Karnataka   

A death that dashed all hopes

Words of comfort: Congress leader M. Mallikarjun Kharge consoling the family members of the farmer who committed suicide, at Polakpalli village in Chincholi taluk of Gulbarga district on Friday.

CHINCHOLI (GULBARGA DISTRICT): Thirty-year-old Umadevi along with her children — Nandakumar, Renuka and mentally challenged Nagaraj — were weeping uncontrollably and falling at the feet of every visitor who called on the family to offer condolences for the death of her husband Veershetty Basavannappa Kanna, a farmer, on Friday.

Veershetty Kanna, who could not get DAP fertilizer for use in his land at Polakpalli in Chincholi taluk of Gulbarga district, ended his life reportedly by consuming pesticide on Wednesday.

First to call on the family was Minister for Animal Husbandry Revu Naik Belamgi along with senior officials, including the outgoing Deputy Commissioner, Pankajkumar Pandey.

Later, leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly M. Mallikarjun Kharge, District Congress Committee president Allamprabhu Patil and the former Minister Baburao Chavan called on the family.

When Mr. Belamgi came to the tin-roofed house of the deceased at Polakpalli, Ms. Umadevi and her children fell at his feet and sought his help to overcome their difficulties.

“I do not have anybody to support me and my children… besides providing compensation to my family, give a government job to my son,” she said.

Mr. Belamgi consoled them and said that he would talk to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa in this regard. The Minister gave Rs. 10,000 to the family.

Mr. Kharge flew in a helicopter to Chincholi to offer condolences to the farmer’s family. Ms. Umadevi and her children sought his intervention in getting compensation and employment in the government to one member of the family.

Mr. Kharge announced that the Congress would provide Rs. 1 lakh as compensation to the family. Mr. Kharge told Ms. Umadevi that he would do everything to get justice to her family and take up the issue with Mr. Yeddyurappa.

Ms. Umadevi explained to him the reasons that forced her husband to take the extreme step.

She said that her husband was running from pillar to post four days before he committed suicide to buy DAP fertilizer for taking up sowing of black gram and green gram in their seven-acre ancestral land.

She showed the challan given by the Agriculture Department authorities to her husband asking him to collect the fertilizer on Tuesday. He had also lost about Rs. 500 when he went to market buy the fertilizer, she added.

Enquires with officials revealed that payment of compensation to the family had to be decided by the district-level committee constituted by the Government to go into cases of farmers’ suicide.

The committee will submit its report to the Government on whether the farmer had committed suicide owing to loan burden or other reasons.

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