Kapurthala, SEPTEMBER 16: A 25-year-old farmer from Ahli Kalan village in Sultanpur Lodhi’s flood-hit Mand area allegedly attempted suicide on September 10 after monsoon floods destroyed his paddy crop on 16 acres, family members said. He is undergoing treatment at a local hospital and is reported to be out of danger.
According to relatives, the farmer, identified as Arshdeep Singh, consumed poison and fell seriously ill. His family said they do not know where he obtained the poison. The family owns 10 acres and had leased an additional 6 acres for cultivation in the Mand area, which lies close to the Beas riverbank.
Arshdeep’s mother, Ranjit Kaur, said her son had withdrawn from regular life after the crop loss and was deeply worried about repaying loans. “He had stopped eating and speaking. I asked some relatives to talk to him. He confided in them that he was worried as to how we would repay the loan,” she said.
Kaur could not provide the exact outstanding amount but said the debt “ran into lakhs of rupees.” Local farmers said annual rent in the Mand area can be as high as Rs 60,000 per acre, putting further pressure on tenant cultivators who lose their crop.
Another villager, Saminder Singh, noted the family had been hit by floods before. “They suffered the same fate during the 2023 floods. But this time the farmer couldn’t bear it,” he said.
