Andhra Pradesh - Eluru   

Concern over suicides by tenant farmers

ELURU: The convention of Rytu Mitra Groups held here on Friday under the banner of the Rytu Mitra Group Samakhya has expressed serious concern over the spate of suicides by tenant farmers in the district allegedly due to non-availability of financial assistance from banks.

Samakhya district coordinator K. Srinivas, who chaired the meeting, said as many as six tenant farmers reportedly committed suicide, each in Eluru, Pedapadu, Denduluru, Poduru, Pedavegi and Koyyalagudem mandals, in the last two months. All the six farmers were constrained to take loans from private money lenders for interest rates ranging beyond five per cent for agricultural operations and resorted to suicide following pressures from lenders for repayment.

He said the tenant farmers were vexed with the alleged non-cooperation from bankers in financing the RMGs formed with tenant farmers. The bankers made the tenant farmers run from the pillar to the post for loans and lose hope at the end of the day, which forced them to depend on private lenders, Mr. Srinivas alleged.

Contradicting official claims of arranging bank finance for over 48,000 tenant farmers, he said the figures were far from reality.

Of the total 1.75 lakh tenant farmers, hardly 25,000 of them got institutional finance.

Even as the district administration claimed to have formed 22,000 Rytu Mitra Groups in the district, as many as 14,000 became defunct since the former failed to keep its word with regard to arranging financial support from banks, he said.

N. Venkateswarlu, Joint Director, Agriculture, stated that the administration had provided a financial assistance of Rs 97 crore to 4,748 tenant farmers in the current khariff in collaboration with bankers.

B. Balaram, president of the samakhya State committee, spoke.

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