A 46-year-old farmer died by suicide on Monday after posting a video clip online asking why he had not received government relief despite losing his crop to a dry spell in Latur, the Maharashtra district the authorities on Saturday declared a 'water scarcity zone' for one year.
In the video, Shankar Abanrao Kshirsagar made an emotional appeal to the district collector, asking why he had not benefited from any loan-waiver scheme and why his daughter's medical college fees weren't waived despite an application.
The Maharashtra government has announced fee concessions for children of drought-affected farmers but Kshirsagar’s daughter apparently did not get the benefit.
Kshirsagar was distressed due to the financial burden arising from crop failure, outstanding loans and his daughter's educational expenses, said assistant police inspector Bodhankar of Limbgaon police station which is around 357 km south of Nagpur.
He said that Kshirsagar went to his farm on Monday afternoon, recorded the video on his mobile phone and uploaded it to social media. The farmer’s family members and police launched a search for him after the video came to their notice.
Kshirsagar was found hanging at the farm in Borgaon village, the official said.
The farmer had cultivated soybean on his small piece of land but a prolonged break in rainfall apparently damaged the crop, according to officials.
The Latur administration on Saturday declared the district as a 'water scarcity zone' for a period of one year and imposed restrictions on groundwater extraction and borewell digging under Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act 2009.
Lack of rain this monsoon has led to a decline of around 4.58 metres in groundwater level in the district, according to officials.
Collector and District Disaster Management Authority chairman Bharat Bastewad issued the order to regulate groundwater use and avert a potential shortage of drinking water in the coming months.
Over 85 per cent of talukas in Maharashtra have been declared drought-hit. As many as 305 out of 358 sub-divisions in the state have been affected.
On October 14, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced that an initial relief of Rs 5,000 would be deposited directly into farmers' bank accounts ahead of Diwali.
Marathwada, the Maharashtra region which has eight districts including Latur, has recorded 465 farmer suicides in the first six months of 2026, according to reported official data. In 2025, the region recorded 1,131 farmer suicides.