Madhya Pradesh Woman, Waiting In Line For 2 Days To Get Fertiliser, Dies

The fertiliser crisis in Madhya Pradesh took a tragic turn on Wednesday night when a 50-year-old woman farmer died after waiting in line for two consecutive days at a fertiliser distribution centre in the Guna district. Bhruiya Bai's death has triggered outrage, exposed serious lapses in administrative arrangements, and raised sharp questions over the handling of urea distribution across the region.

According to her family, Bai reached the warehouse in Bageri on Tuesday to purchase urea. When she failed to get it, she returned to the queue on Wednesday only to be left waiting again. With no certainty of her return and bitter cold settling in, she stayed outside the centre overnight. Later at night, her health deteriorated sharply; she began vomiting and collapsed. Her family called for an ambulance, but none arrived.

A farmer eventually rushed her to a health centre in his private vehicle. Doctors referred her to the Guna district hospital, but she died after reaching there. According to her family members, "We got a call at 3 am If we had been informed earlier, this situation would not have arisen. There was no ambulance. We took her with our own money. We got no help from the government."

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Meanwhile, the farmer who took Bai to the health centre, said that there were no arrangements (such as water) at the warehouse. "People are standing in line for days. We took her to Bamori, then to Guna. Machines were set up, but they told us to take her home. We've been in line for three days and still haven't received fertiliser."

The incident happened on the same day when Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia visited the district for official engagements. Scindia expressed condolences and directed officials to support the bereaved family.

What followed, however, was a rare, public confrontation.

At a public programme, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pannalal Shakya questioned the district administration. Shakya, addressing the Collector seated before him, said, "Why are these long lines forming? What are your arrangements? Do you want to defame Scindia ji? That woman suffered all night and died. What was the reason? We will seek answers from District Collector Kishore Kumar Kanyal, and if not here, then in the Assembly."

Kanyal, facing mounting criticism, stated that Bhuriya Bai had extremely high blood sugar levels, reportedly around 450, which he said caused the sudden deterioration in her health. Kanyal admitted an ambulance could not be arranged at night but claimed fertiliser availability was not an issue.

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"This is a very sad incident. She had very high diabetes," he added.

She stood in line at night and was taken to the hospital immediately, where she died. "We are repeatedly telling farmers there is no need to stand at night. Thirty to thirty-five trucks of urea are arriving daily. After rainfall, demand shot up suddenly, but supply continues," Kanyal further said.

The explanation has done little to calm public anger. Villagers insist that long lines, poor crowd management, and lack of basic facilities water, shelter, seating, or emergency support were primary contributors to the tragedy.