Farmer commits suicide in Jharkhand, government announces compensation to kin

Ranchi, July 20 (IANS) The Jharkhand government on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of a farmer who committed suicide in Ranchi district of Jharkhand.

"The Jharkhand Chief Minister has expressed concern over suicide of the farmer. Rs 2 lakh compensation will be given to family member of the farmer," said a press release issued by the state government.

"The Chief Minister has directed the district agriculture officials to take feed-back from panchayats and villages," the release added.

Sanjay Munda, a resident of Chano -- about 25 km from Ranchi -- committed suicide on Wednesday by hanging himself from the ceiling fan.

According to villagers, the 20-year-old farmer was living in distress as he suffered crop losses. His father is physically handicapped and his elder brother left the village last year and works as a labourer outside the state, they said.

This is the sixth case of farmer suicide in Jharkhand in the last two months.