Rajasthan Farmer Plants Rs 500 Notes In Field To Protest Unpaid Crop Insurance Claim

In a striking act of protest, a farmer from Rajasthan's Nagaur district sowed Rs 500 notes in his field after being denied crop insurance compensation. The video, recorded by the farmer himself, has since gone viral on social media, drawing attention to the challenges faced by farmers in the wake of natural calamities.

Mallaram Bawari, a resident of Deoria Jatan village, had taken a loan of Rs 1 lakh from a bank to cultivate cotton on his farmland. However, excessive rainfall this season caused a water pond in his field to overflow, leading to complete waterlogging and the destruction of his entire cotton crop. He was left with a meagre Rs 4,000 worth of produce.

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Despite having insured his crop, Bawari claims that no compensation was provided. He filed a complaint on the insurance company's toll-free number but alleged that no official ever visited his field to assess the damage. Frustrated with the system's inaction, Bawari resorted to a symbolic protest - sowing Rs 500 currency notes in the field that once held his failed crop.

Bawari stated that this was his way of expressing anger over government schemes and insurance providers who failed to offer timely assistance. He said the destruction of his crop left him without the funds to even cover basic sowing costs, pushing him to this extreme step. The protest highlights growing discontent among farmers across the country who feel abandoned despite being part of formal insurance schemes.