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Maharashtra

Oppn to PM: ‘Meet kin of farmer who committed suicide after greeting you’ 

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In a shocker, a penniless and frustrated farmer Dashrath L. Kedari, greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 72nd birthday (September 17) and then jumped into a village pond to end his life, his grieving family said here on Monday.

The Maharashtra Opposition has called upon the PM to visit the family of the farmer who penned a suicide note and raised issues of Minimum Support Price and other issues confronting the agro-sector.

Kedari’s brother-in-law Arvind Waghmare said the incident took place in Bankarphata village where he had been working as a farmer for the past 8 years.

“He seemed very depressed that day, but conveyed his wishes for a long life to the PM, then jumped into a nearby pond and killed himself. A suicide note was recovered later,” Waghmare told IANS.

Opposition Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress slammed the state and Central government for failure “to protect farmers reeling under a severe agrarian crisis with a record number of farmland suicides clocked this year”.

In his final note, debt-ridden Kedari wished ‘Happy Birthday to You, PM’ and then blamed the state government for failing to ensure MSP which compelled him to end his life and escape the debtors.

He rued how the state was not giving MSP to onion, tomato and other crops’ cultivators, suffering from the ravages of the recent floods and the losses of the pandemic.

“What should we do? You are only concerned for yourself Modi Saheb… We are not begging for alms, but what is rightly due to us… MSP must be given to us as the money-lenders are threatening us. Nobody takes risks like the farmers… where do we go with our grievances,” Kedari said.

Congress state President Nana Patole, Sena Spokespersons Kishore Tiwari and Dr. Manisha Kayande and Nationalist Congress Party Chief Spokesperson Mahesh Tapase slammed the government for failure to tackle the state agrarian crisis which has resulted in a spate of desperate suicides by the tillers.

Shooting a letter to Modi, Tiwari – who is President of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavlamban Mission (VNSSM) – urged the PM to immediately come to visit the Kedari family as the state government has failed to solve the problems of farmers.

He recalled how Modi – during his trendsetter ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ with farmers in his visit to Yavatmal (March 2014) – had assured to address core issues like MSP, marketing, input costs, easy credit from public sector banks, change in crop patterns, risk management by way of crop insurance, etc.

However, despite the PM’s best efforts, nothing has materialised owing to a hostile administration and corrupt implementation agencies, leading to tragedies like Kedari’s suicide for precisely similar reasons, Tiwari pointed out.

He called upon Modi to visit the Kedari family or direct Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to go and console the deceased farmers’ kin during her visit to Pune next week.

“A farmer greets the PM and then goes on his ‘chita’ (funeral pyre), but the PM is busy bringing the ‘cheetah’ to the country… This is the sad status in the country,” said Dr. Kayande, taking a swipe.

Patole said when farmers are burning on the pyres, the PM is organising ‘cheetah’ mega-events and called for “ending this suicides circle”.

Tapase termed it a ‘shame’ that farmers are greeting PM’s birthday with suicide as “the government has gone deaf, dumb and blind” to their plight.

A grim Tiwari added that this year, over 1,080 farmers have ended lives in Vidarbha alone and the state has created a new record with around 2,600 peasants’ suicides in the first nine months of 2022.

Kedari, 42, hailing from Wadgaon-Anand village, is survived by his wife Shanta and two college-going children – son Shubham, 20, and daughter Shravani, 18.

His funeral was completed last weekend after the Alephata Police made enquiries and registered a case, said Waghmare.

Maharashtra

Dahi Handi 2025: One Injured After Falling From Govinda Pathak In Dadar

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Mumbai: One person was injured after falling from the top of a human pyramid during Dahi Handi celebrations in Mumbai’s Dadar area on Saturday. The incident occurred as a group of Govindas attempted to break the handi by forming a human pyramid, a traditional highlight of the Janmashtami festival.

The injured participant received immediate medical attention and is reported to be in stable condition. The Dahi Handi celebration in Dadar draws massive crowds each year, and this year was no exception, with enthusiastic participation despite safety concerns.

11-Year-Old Boy Dies During Dahi Handi Practice In Dahisar; Pathak President Booked For Negligence

In another news story related to the Dahi Handi, a tragic incident unfolded in Hanuman Nagar, Ketkipada, Dahisar East, on Sunday, where an 11-year-old boy, Mahesh Jadhav, lost his life while practising for the upcoming Dahi Handi celebrations. Mahesh was a member of the Navtarun Govinda Pathak.

The Dahisar police registered an FIR on Monday against Balu Soornar, the President of the Navtarun Mitra Mandal Pathak, under Sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 223 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Fall During Practice Turns Fatal

According to police reports, Mahesh was a resident of Dharkhadi, Dahisar East. His family comes from a modest background; his mother works as a domestic helper, his father is a labourer, and he has three younger brothers aged 8, 5, and 1. As the eldest child, Mahesh had taken part in the Dahi Handi practices held by his group.

In preparation for Gokulashtami, the Navtarun Govinda Pathak had been conducting practice sessions. However, reports suggest that no safety measures or protective equipment were provided to the participants. Being the smallest in the group, Mahesh was assigned the topmost position in the human pyramid. During Sunday night’s practice, he lost his balance while standing at the top and fell straight to the ground due to the absence of sufficient members below to cushion the fall.

He sustained critical injuries from the fall and was immediately taken to a multispeciality hospital in Dahisar East, where doctors declared him dead. His body was later transferred to Shatabdi Hospital for post-mortem examination.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: 32-Year-Old Dahi Handi Participant Dies In Mankhurd, 30 Injured Citywide

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Mumbai witnessed tragedy during the Dahi Handi celebrations on Saturday when a 32-year-old participant from Bal Govinda Pathak in Maharashtra Nagar, Mankhurd, lost his life in an accident.

About The Incident

The incident was reported around 3 pm and confirmed by Shatabdi Hospital, Govandi.

The deceased, identified as Jagmohan Shivkiran Chaudhari, was tying the Dahi Handi rope from the first floor of a G+1 structure when he slipped inside the grill of the house. His family members rushed him to Shatabdi Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Apart from this fatal mishap, several Govinda participants across the city sustained injuries while attempting human pyramids and other celebratory activities. By 3 pm, hospitals had reported a total of 30 injuries. Of these, 18 cases were reported at Cooper Hospital, where 12 people remained under treatment and six were discharged. At Sion Hospital, six injured Govindas were admitted, with three undergoing treatment and the rest sent home after primary care. Another six cases were recorded at Nair Hospital, with one person still under treatment and five discharged.

In all, 30 people were injured during the day’s festivities, 15 of whom continued to receive medical care while the other 15 were discharged after treatment. Civic authorities stated that apart from the Mankhurd incident, no other major untoward episode was reported in the city during the celebrations.

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Maharashtra

‘Eknath Shinde Won Matka Not Lottery’: MP Sanjay Raut Takes Dig At Maharashtra Deputy CM; MNS-Sena Collaborate For BEST Patpedhi Elections

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Mumbai: In numerous locations, employees from both parties are uniting and engaging in various activities. You inquired about the MNS alliance in the Municipal Corporations of Mumbai, Thane, and Kalyan, and I just provided an answer. The employees from both organizations are collaborating in the BEST Patpedhi elections.

A large march will occur in Nashik, where MNS will participate alongside Shiv Sena in this significant event. We are currently negotiating to contest the elections jointly. “Our focus is on Mumbai,” stated Sanjay Raut, an MP from the Thackeray group.

Sanjay Raut engaged with the journalists. On this occasion, Sanjay Raut stated that the focus of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and their business group is Mumbai. They aim to seize control of Mumbai, and the Thackeray brothers’ goal is to ensure that Mumbai is not given to the Gujaratis.

The position of Chief Minister is not a gamble; it’s a matka, stated BJP leader and minister Ganesh Naik regarding Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. When Sanjay Raut was asked for his thoughts on this, he mentioned that lottery is an esteemed term.

In the past, the government operated a lottery. However, matka is currently being played unlawfully in the state. Despite Devendra Fadnavis being the Chief Minister, the figures are being manipulated. Ganesh Naik referred to the term lottery; he made this indicative comment in Thane.

However, the term matka must have been on his mind. He must have intended to imply that there should have been a matka for the position of Chief Minister. However, matka numbers are unpredictable, and individuals participate in four or five matkas, stated Sanjay Raut.

In the meantime, fundamentally, Girish Mahajan is not Maharishi Vyas. He ought to notice what is igniting beneath him. He ought to consider what will occur for him on the day he is no longer in power, where he will find himself. “On the morrow, when the Thackeray brothers join forces politically, they will be aware.” Sanjay Raut criticized that the thieves and robbers surrounding Fadnavis will struggle to walk the streets when they are out of power.

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