While the state celebrated Diwali in style, there was a pall of gloom over the families of five farmers in Vidarbha. The distressed farmers took the extreme step of ending their lives in the last 48 hours, after being unable to buy their family sweets and clothes for the festival.

Unable to pay off their debts and failure of their crops, farmers have been forced to commit suicide, taking the toll to 683 this year. Representation pic