Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
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Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f95ff50813b-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f95ff50813b-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f95ff50813b-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f95ff50813b-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f95ff50813b-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f95ff50813b-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f95ff50813b-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f95ff50813b-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/font&gt;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around..."/>
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                <strong>Without thumb, a life unliveable by Alamgir Hossain</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&rsquo;s part of everyday toil.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >&ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&rdquo; Santosh&rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >So why wasn&rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&rdquo; Jha said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&rdquo; his brother Tapan said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >This morning, Santosh&rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.<br /></font></p>               </font>
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;&lt;font &gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 2269,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Without thumb, a life unliveable by Alamgir Hossain&#039;,
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...&#039;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around..."/>
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                <strong>Without thumb, a life unliveable by Alamgir Hossain</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&rsquo;s part of everyday toil.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >&ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&rdquo; Santosh&rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >So why wasn&rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&rdquo; Jha said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&rdquo; his brother Tapan said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >This morning, Santosh&rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.<br /></font></p>               </font>
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&amp;rsquo;s part of everyday toil.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...&#039;,
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &amp;lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&amp;rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&amp;rdquo; Santosh&amp;rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &amp;ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &amp;ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&amp;rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &amp;ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;So why wasn&amp;rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &amp;ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&amp;rdquo; Jha said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &amp;ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&amp;rdquo; his brother Tapan said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &amp;ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&amp;rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.&lt;/font&gt;
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&lt;font face=&quot;arial,helvetica,sans-serif&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;This morning, Santosh&amp;rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.&lt;br /&gt;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&amp;rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...&#039;
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around..."/>
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                <strong>Without thumb, a life unliveable by Alamgir Hossain</strong></h1>
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                <p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&rsquo;s part of everyday toil.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >&ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&rdquo; Santosh&rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >So why wasn&rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&rdquo; Jha said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&rdquo; his brother Tapan said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >This morning, Santosh&rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.<br /></font></p>               </font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.</font>
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<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&rsquo;s part of everyday toil.</font>
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<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.</font>
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<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">&ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&rdquo; Santosh&rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&rdquo;</font>
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<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&rdquo;</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">So why wasn&rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&rdquo; Jha said.</font>
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<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&rdquo; his brother Tapan said.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.</font>
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">This morning, Santosh&rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.<br />
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	'metaTitle' => 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Without thumb, a life unliveable by Alamgir Hossain',
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...',
	'disp' => '<p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&rsquo;s part of everyday toil.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >&ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&rdquo; Santosh&rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >So why wasn&rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&rdquo; Jha said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&rdquo; his brother Tapan said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >This morning, Santosh&rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.<br /></font></p>',
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	'title' => 'Without thumb, a life unliveable by Alamgir Hossain',
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<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&rsquo;s part of everyday toil.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">&ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&rdquo; Santosh&rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&rdquo;</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&rdquo;</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">So why wasn&rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&rdquo; Jha said.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&rdquo; his brother Tapan said.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.</font>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="3">This morning, Santosh&rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.<br />
</font>
</p>
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His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.


The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around...'
$disp = '<p align="justify"><font ></font></p><p align="justify"><font >His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn&rsquo;t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it&rsquo;s part of everyday toil.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >&ldquo;Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. &lsquo;How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?&rsquo; he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,&rdquo; Santosh&rsquo;s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. &ldquo;I tried to console him but he was very depressed.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. &ldquo;A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,&rdquo; said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. &ldquo;But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.&rdquo;</font></p><p align="justify"><font >So why wasn&rsquo;t mechanised harvesting being promoted? &ldquo;In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,&rdquo; Jha said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. &ldquo;His right thumb was almost severed,&rdquo; his brother Tapan said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. &ldquo;His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,&rdquo; hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said.</font></p><p align="justify"><font >This morning, Santosh&rsquo;s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.<br /></font></p>'
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Without thumb, a life unliveable by Alamgir Hossain

His right thumb severed, Santosh Mondal didn’t know how he would harvest his crop. So he killed himself last night. The tragedy mirrors the desperation of not only a poor Murshidabad farmer but also of a state where politics revolves around farming even if it does not make economic sense. The suicide over a digit that most take for granted becomes all the more stark against the backdrop that Santosh could have rebuilt his life with a mechanised harvester. Such a harvester costs Rs 2 -3 lakh. No longer a mean amount in an India that today reported a 51 per cent rise in the number of dollar-millionaires to 1.26 lakh but out of reach for someone like Santosh who owned a 2-bigha farm. Concepts such as mechanised farming do not go with the romanticised slogans once propagated by the Left and now by the Trinamul Congress. The small size of the farms usually stands in the way but not for mechanised harvesters. Agriculture here remains a gamble in the monsoon and the right thumb is life. Stiff or supple, it’s part of everyday toil. The world closed in on Santosh once he lost a thumb, possibly making him feel that he had few options left. The 40-year-old farmer was found hanging in a hospital, a day after surgeons had removed his right thumb after a freak accident while cutting grass. Police said preliminary investigations pointed to suicide. “Yesterday, he kept worrying how he was going to hold the sickle. ‘How can a farmer survive without his right thumb?’ he kept saying. He said it at least 50 times,” Santosh’s widow Basanti said, weeping as she waited for his body at Lalbag subdivisional hospital. “I tried to console him but he was very depressed.” When Santosh was not tilling his plot, he worked as a farmhand. He made about Rs 1,500-1,800 a month, she said. Agricultural scientists said it was not possible for a farmer who owned 2 bighas to buy a mechanised harvester. “A man who owns 2 bighas is obviously a poor farmer. How can he afford a mechanised harvester when the small ones cost around Rs 2 to Rs 3 lakh? So a farmer like Santosh Mondal is dependent on his sickle,” said Santanu Jha, a teacher at Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University in Kalyani. Jha said a small, mechanised harvester could harvest paddy in a 2-bigha plot in one-and-a-half days. “But if the farmer has to harvest it by hand, it will take him 12 to 15 days.” So why wasn’t mechanised harvesting being promoted? “In a state like Bengal, that would mean loss of jobs for thousands of farm labourers,” Jha said. Santosh was snipping the roots of the grass he had cut from his field in Asanpur village, 235km from Calcutta, when his sickle slipped. The sharp blade sliced through his thumb. “His right thumb was almost severed,” his brother Tapan said. The doctor at a local health centre referred him to the Lalbag hospital. “His thumb was hanging by a thread. There was no other alternative other than amputating the thumb. The surgeon took the right decision,” hospital superintendent Bijoy Prasad Shaw said. This morning, Santosh’s body was found hanging in a hospital bathroom.