Kashinath’s tragedy began in 1990, when three acres of their land was acquired for the percolation tank. The family was left with just one acre. “We got a measly Rs 7,000 per acre as compensation,” says Dagdu, adding that marrying off his three daughters also took a toll on his finances. “Each daughter’s marriage cost at least Rs 50,000,” he says.

He calculates that the funeral expenses will cost at least Rs 5,000. “At least 500 will have to be invited for the Tervi Prasad,” he says.

A little distance away, a shining white temple is being built at a total cost of Rs 20 lakh. The farmers raised half the funds through individual contributions. However, none of the 30 self-help groups are operative.

Local leaders start squabbling when asked why they couldn’t raise funds to help themselves. “If I do something, the other party leader will see to it that it fails,” says Rajendra Jadhav of the Congress, husband of Sarpanch Lata Jadhao.

Like Kashinath, the loan waiver hasn’t made much of a difference to the 275-odd farming families in the village. Patilba Jadhav, 65, is left with two unmarried daughters and a daughter-in-law. Both his sons committed suicide in a gap of eight years. While the reason for his younger son’s suicide is not clear, the elder one killed himself in 2006 for agrarian reasons. Patilba is not eligible for the loan waiver since he holds six acres of land. Then there is Santosh Waghmare, whose outstanding loan amount is Rs 42,000. But he, too, is ineligible for the waiver since he has over five acres of land.

... contd.