West Bengal Governor calls for addressing farmers' suicides urgently

Kolkata, Jan 23 (ANI): Expressing concern over the rising number of farmers' suicides in the state, West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan on Monday said there is a need to find a way out and ensure that this does not happen.

"That is an issue, which is engaging the attention of the both the State Government and the Central Government because I think farmers suicides are unfortunately taking place. We need to find ways and means to ensure that this does not happen. I mean we have to find a way; many of them I suppose are deeply in debt," Naryanan told the reporters here.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier last week refuted reports about farmers' committing suicide in the state.

"Twelve persons died due to some disease and they were not connected to farming, while reports said that some others took heavy loans from banks for personal purposes," she told a Panchayatiraj Sammelan at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadiumn Thursday.

"You should be ashamed of the atrocities committed during your rule on the farmers. You killed farmers, looted them, snatched their produce and drove them out of their fields. We have not forgotten the atrocities on them," she added, while lashing out at the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat had earlier held the Mamata Banerjee-led Government in West Bengal responsible for the suicides. (ANI)