Farmer gulps poison before minister for power connection

Buldhana (Maharashtra): Upset over being denied an agricultural power connection in his fields since 1980, a farmer recently attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison in the presence of the Maharashtra Minister of State for Energy Madan Yerawar and other senior officials. Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, the aggrieved farmer, Ishwar Kharate, who tried to take his own life on Saturday (June 15), said that he had warned the district administration of his plans to commit suicide since he has not been given a power connection in his farmland for nearly four decades. Kharate said his grandfather, the late Shriram S. Kharate, had made the application to the concerned local authorities way back on December 16, 1980, but alleged that nothing had moved in the matter, compelling him to resort to the extreme measure to build pressure on the authorities. He was rushed to the district hospital for treatment and later discharged after his condition became stable. (IANS)