A unique demonstration by farmers in Yavatmal district – the epicentre of the farmer suicides in Vidarbha - saw them gather at the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Ghatanji Branch on Monday. An elaborate puja and aarti to propitiate Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s later, they beat drums for over an hour calling out in despair to the government for help.

One of the farmers, Bhumanna Chittalwar of Kavthha village told dna, "The government is ignoring our plight though the number of farmers who have committed suicide this year alone has gone up to 520. We are hoping the noise of these drums will reach the air-conditioned cabins of the ministers and bureaucrats where our cries of despair haven’t."

Kishore Tiwari of the farmers’ advocacy group Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said the decision to organise the protest outside the SBI branch was conscious. "SBI authorities are adding the list of farmers who have defaulted on payments over the last three years as people who have availed of a fresh loan by mortgaging their lands in addition as guarantee," he explained and added, “So lands worth Rs10 lakh are being mortgaged for as little as Rs10,000 in many cases.”

According to him, "If a government owned bank is doing this, you can imagine how the other banks are sucking the farmer’s blood."

Farmers like Bhisen Gedam of Pimpri said he has been making rounds of his local SBI branch for two months for a loan. “They keep saying it will take a week but nothing’s worked out. Each passing day makes me more and more miserable. Then they keep wondering why farmers are killing themselves."

While the local branch manager passed on the buck to his Mumbai headquarters, repeated attempts to seek an official reaction from the agriculture department drew a blank.