India’s top ‘suicide tourism’ destination: Bothbodan

Till three years ago, hardly any politician or social worker had heard of Bothbodan, a tiny village in Vidarbha’s Yavatmal district. Today, whenever a high profile politician arrives in the district, he ensures that Bothbodan is included in his itinerary. Reason: The village has become the ‘poster boy’ of the agrarian crisis in the region.

Bothbodan is known as the ‘suicide village’ of Vidarbha. The village has around 300 households, mostly of the Banjara community. Of these, 18 have seen suicides over the last three years ? a record for any Vidarbha village.