Mumbai, June 22: Amid lack of rains in the monsoon and water scarcity spread all across the state, farmers in Maharashtra's village organised a wedding of two dolls for rainfall. The ceremony took place in drought-hit Wardha district, where people opine that marriage of dolls would bring rain in the drought-prone region.

Earlier, informing the Legislative Assembly on Friday, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Anil Bonde stated that more than 12,021 farmers committed suicides during the last four years, with Marathwada and Vidarbha have been the worst-affected regions. PM Narendra Modi Chairs Economic Panel Meet Ahead of Union Budget 2019; Agrarian Crisis, Economical Revival Schemes Main Agenda

It is to be known that until last week, the western state has seven per cent of the required water in reserves and most of the districts have been declared drought-affected. However, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Subhash Deshmukh on Friday claim that out of 12,021 cases, 6,888 cases or only 57 per cent have been found eligible for ex-gratia financial assistance.

With things blowing out of proportion and farmers continuously committing suicides, Anil Bonde had appealed them not to take such drastic steps, as in the first three months of 2019, 610 farmers had committed suicide in Maharashtra.

Appealing to the farmers, Bonde said, as Financial Times quotes, "I appeal to farmers to not bring thoughts of committing suicide to their minds. It’s a difficult time as there has been no rain yet. We all need to fight this together. Our farmer loan waiver scheme has been implemented successfully as compared to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh." Maharashtra: More Than 12,000 Farmers Committed Suicide in 3 Years, Says Government

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a high-profile economic meet with the Union Ministers, experts and key bureaucrats to discuss on the ailing issues of the agrarian sector. The motto of the meeting was to bring structural changes to revive the declining economy of the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 22, 2019 06:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).