The Hindu : `Practical steps needed to help farmers'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 09, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

`Practical steps needed to help farmers'

By Muralidhara Khajane

HASSAN NOV. 8. Puttaswamy, a 32-year-old farmer from Dasarahalli village in Shravanabelagola hobli of Channarayapatna taluk committed suicide by consuming poison on Thursday.

The owner of 1.5 acres of land, he had reportedly borrowed Rs. 70,000 from a moneylender who was pestering him to repay the loan. Unable to repay the money due to crop failure, he ended his life.

Not very different was the case of Puttaswamy Gowda (36) of Hurulikopplu in Dudda hobli in Hassan taluk. According to the police, he had borrowed Rs. 60,000 from a moneylender to cultivate his seven acres of land, which was in his father's name. He got a borewell drilled, but it did not yield water and the crop failed due to lack of rainfall. Driven to desperation, he committed suicide in September.

Krishne Gowda, a 40-year-old farmer from Choudenahalli village in Channarayapatna taluk, took a loan from a moneylender to drill a borewell. But it failed to yield water. The moneylender reportedly abused him in the Channarayapatna market. Unable to bear the humiliation, he committed suicide by consuming poison.

With the suicide of Puttaswamy on Thursday, the number of suicides by farmers in the district has gone up to 55 since April 1, which is said to be the highest in the State. The lowest figure was recorded in Udupi district with one case.

While Hassan taluk recorded the highest number of suicides in the district with 13 cases, Alur taluk recorded the lowest with 2 cases. The suicide cases recorded in other taluks in the district are as follows: Arsikere - 12, Channarayapatna - 10, Belur - 5, Sakleshpur - 4, Arkalgud - 5, and Holenarsipur - 3.

The increasing number of suicides by farmers is an indicator of the crisis in the agriculture sector in the district. According to Dr. Arunachaliah, a psychiatrist, farmers are feeling insecure as nature has been cruel to them for the past three years.

The drought has adversely affected agricultural production, rural employment, and the availability of water and fodder in villages. Though the recent rainfall provided a little relief to the extent of meeting the fodder needs, it did not help improve agricultural production.

Crop failure due to successive droughts, lack of irrigation facility in the taluks, especially Arsikere, pest attacks, family problems, and harassment by moneylenders are said to be the reasons behind the spate of suicides.

According to sources in the district administration, most of those who committed suicide were small and marginal farmers.

The leaders of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) district unit say that the Rs. 856-crore relief package announced by the Government has failed to check the suicides. The compensation of Rs. 1 lakh announced for the next of kin of farmers who commit suicide has become counter-productive and it is, in fact, acting as an incentive for farmers to take the extreme step.

However, the parameters fixed by the Government for compensating the family of farmers do not include loans taken from moneylenders. Farmers say the cumbersome procedure involved in obtaining loans from banks is forcing them to borrow from moneylenders.

Disputing the claims of the farmers, officials of Canara Bank, the lead bank in the district, say that banks are liberal in sanctioning loans to the agricultural sector and the recovery rate is also encouraging.

They refute the charge that coercion by banks to repay loans drives farmers to suicide.

The president of the KRRS, M.D. Nanjundaswamy, says the Government should immediately work out a special scheme to improve the financial position of farmers instead of adopting an "escapist attitude" by providing compensation and announcing what he feels is an unrealistic package.

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