Bhopal, Jan 29 (IANS) A 35-year-old farmer committed suicide by consuming pesticide at his field in Damoh district after his crop failed, family members said Sunday.

Bhagwandas Patel of Chewla village in Hata block was disturbed as the grain crop in his 4 acre land had got ruined because of the frost.

Around Jan 20, the temperature had dropped to 0 degree Celsius. His crop got damaged due to the frost.

“Most of my brother’s grain crop was ruined. He had taken a loan of more than Rs. one lakh,” Sudama Patel, Bhagwandas’ cousin told IANS.

“The incident has taken place and our officials are there, but as of now we cannot speculate on the reasons behind the death,” Damoh superintendent of police Dileep Arya told IANS.

A week ago, hundreds of farmers whose crops had got damaged because of frost, demonstrated before the Collector’s office for compensation. However, no action was taken by the administration.

State Agriculture Minister Ramkrishan Kushmaria also hails from Damoh, over 250 km from Bhopal. The district is situated in the Bundelkhand region, one of India’s poorest regions.

Last year, at least a dozen farmers had attempted suicide and five of them had died in Damoh.