The haunting reality of agrarian distress returned to Punjab’s Faridkot district Monday morning as two brothers from the Harinau village allegedly died by suicide. The deceased were identified as Jaswinder Singh, 34, and Jaskaran Singh, 38.For their father, Ranbir Singh, 60, the loss is a double blow, leaving him in shock. “I have three daughters and two sons… Both my sons are gone,” he said.“They were dealing with a severe financial crisis: pending loans from arhtiyas (commission agents) and banks. It has only been two days; I haven’t even been able to sit back and calculate the exact debt. I just need to absorb this shock first.”He further explained the family’s declining landholding and mounting debt burden, saying, “I had about 12 acres of farm land and over the years now only 2 acres was left on which my both sons were doing farming and apart from this they used to get around 25 acres of land on lease…over the years the debt cycle kept on increasing and they were not able to recover out of that crisis.”The deceased brothers leave behind their wives, Amarjeet Kaur and Karamjit Kaur, who are real sisters. Each has a daughter aged 10 and 9 years respectively.Ranbir Singh expressed concern about their future, saying, “They are not even very educated. One daughter-in-law is a Class 5 pass, and the other is illiterate… I don’t know if they will be able to do any work, or how they will sustain themselves… We need to sit back and think.”Both brothers were cremated Tuesday after post-mortem examinations at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot.Story continues below this adFarmer suicide linked to agrarian distress remains a long-standing concern in Punjab. A study conducted by Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, and Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar estimated around 16,600 farmer suicides in the state between 2000 and 2015.Farmer union leaders have pointed to debt pressure as the catalyst for these suicides. Jagjit Singh Dallewal, convener of SKM (Non-Political), claimed the brothers had initially taken a Rs 5 lakh loan from a land mortgage bank, which ballooned to Rs 17 lakh over the years.“They had to sell their land to pay it off. Even their tractor was on loan, and they missed instalments,” Dallewal said. “They tried growing potatoes on leased land, but the crop failed. This is the reality when farmers don’t get MSP. We want an FIR against the bank manager for harassment.”Dallewal also criticised the state government’s priorities, questioning why loan recovery notices are being sent to struggling farmers while hundreds of crores in outstanding dues against MLAs remain unaddressed.Story continues below this adDallewal also referred to the state’s loan recovery drive, stating that the Punjab government has recently decided to recover loans from farmers owning 20 acres or more, including those linked to the Punjab Agricultural Development Bank (PADB).Faridkot Deputy Commissioner Poonamdeep Kaur said administrative processes are underway. “Our officers are in touch with the family to verify institutional loans. We will prepare the case for compensation as per the 2015 state policy,” she said.Under the current policy, families of farmers who die by suicide due to agrarian distress are entitled to Rs 3 lakh in financial assistance, loan waiver, subject to verification and one government job per family.However, for Ranbir Singh, the process is daunting. “I have heard of compensation, but I don’t even know how to prepare a file,” he said.