00:00He dropped to his knees, fists full of peanuts. With nothing but his bare hands, he tried to stop the rainwater from washing away his crop.
00:09A video of this desperate moment went viral.
00:11Union Agriculture Minister Shivrat Singh Chauhan personally called the farmer on 18 May 2025 and promised compensation.
00:23That farmer is Gaurav Pawar from Burwa village in Maharashtra's Vashim district.
00:27He is currently in the final year of his BA degree, but due to his father's poor health, he has taken charge of the household, the farm and all responsibilities.
00:35On 15 May 2025, he brought 25 quintals of peanuts to the local menorah mandi, hoping for a decent sale.
00:41But before he could fully unload, the skies turned.
00:44Gaurav barely had time to react before the water began sweeping away his crop.
00:48Despite his desperate efforts, he couldn't save it.
00:52I saw the video of Mumphadi.
00:55It was bad for the water.
00:58It was bad for the water.
01:00It was bad for me.
01:02But I didn't do it.
01:04Chauhan promised compensation and told Gaurav the rain-damaged crop would still be bought at a fair rate.
01:09Gaurav told us he was stunned and the cold didn't just give him hope.
01:13It saved him.
01:14But in his village, not everyone felt reassured.
01:19Another local resident pointed out that while traders' goods are stored under tin sheds in the mandi, farmers like Gaurav are forced to keep their harvest in the open, leading to losses like his.
01:32This isn't just about one farmer.
01:34In 2024, Maharashtra reported 2,635 farmer suicides, including 952 in the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar division alone.
01:43In the first three months of 2025, Martavara recorded 269 farmer suicides, a 32% increase from the same period last year.
01:51The major triggers included debt, crop failure, rising input costs, erratic weather and inadequate government support.
01:58Gaurav could have been one of them, but one phone call changed the course of his life.
