AURANGABAD: As many as 32 farmers from the Marathwada region committed suicide in a span of seven days, bringing the death toll this year to 660. Last week, the region had recorded 628 farmer suicides. Debt and crop losses were the main reasons being cited for the deaths.

Except for Hingoli, all districts continued to register farmer suicides, a revenue department official said. Most of the suicides (179) have been reported from Beed district this year. Osmanabad has reported 103 deaths so far, while Latur has 64 deaths.

Although the state government is primarily focusing on these three districts and has set up fodder camps there, the agrarian crisis is equally bad in other districts too, a senior revenue department official admitted. Parbhani and Nanded are also beset with severe drought conditions. Nanded has reported 115 farmer suicides this year. In Aurangabad district, only a few talukas have received some rain. If it doesn’t rain in a few days, Marathwada will have to be declared drought-affected, officials said.

Well-known city psychiatrist Dr Aziz Ahmed Qadri said farmers need to be counseled so that they do not end their lives. He said a number of farmers are suffering from depression and have approached his hospital for treatment.

Qadri said the World Health Organization and the International Association for Suicide Prevention have asked for September 10 to be observed as World Suicide Prevention Day.