Six farmers end lives in State, one attempts suicide

As many as six farmers committed suicide in the State on Monday.Two farmers each ended their lives in Haveri and Hassan districts. Girisha Basalingappa Ballera (36) hanged himself from a tree  in Medura village near Rattihalli of Hirekeruru taluk in Haveri district. He is said to have loans of Rs 10 lakh including housing loan. He had sown ginger on three-acre of land, which however, failed. He is survived by wife Hemavathi and two children Sanjay (6) and Sahana (5).

Gopala Manjappa Malladada (32) committed suicide by jumping into Tunga upper canal near Hirekabbara village of Hirekerur taluk. He owned 13 acres of land jointly with his father and they had together borrowed Rs six lakh housing loan. Apart from this, the farmer had borrowed Rs two lakh from private persons, his family members said.

Seventy-year-old Shivanegowda committed suicide by consuming poison in Dodderi village under Hirisave police limits in Hassan district. He has borrowed Rs 50,000 from a bank and Rs four lakh from moneylenders. Gowda had sunk three borewells on his land and none of them yielded water, his son Dinesh said.

Keshavamurthy (48), a farmer from Hennur Kongalale village of Arakalgud taluk in Hassan district, who had consumed poison on July 24, died at the district hospital on Monday. He had sown ginger his four-acre farm, which was affected witha disease. Murthy had borrowed a crop loan of Rs three lakh from a bank and Rs 1.5 lakh from private persons.
Shivayogi Giriyappa Jalageri (27) of Avaradhi village in Ramdurg taluk of Belagavi district, who had consumed poison on Sunday, died at the district hospital on Monday. He had sown maize and onion on 38 guntas of land which failed for want of water. He had sunk a borewell on his land but could not draw water from it as the transformer supplying power to the IP set had burnt out.

Family members said that their repeated requests to Hescom for replacing the transformer went in vain.

Fakkirappa Ramanna Shirigeri (40) of Ganeshapura in Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district, who had attempted to immolate himself, died at Kims Hospital in Hubballi. Shirigeri owned two acres of land and had borrowed Rs 2.30 lakh from various banks. He had also borrowed Rs three lakh as housing loan, according to his statement given to the police.
Self-immolation bid

A debt-ridden farmer attempted suicide setting himself ablaze at Hadadi village in Davangere taluk. The farmer has been identified as S Devendrappa (39). According to his family members, Devendrappa has borrowed Rs 75,000 from a bank and Rs two lakh from private moneylenders. He had sown paddy on his three-acre land, but suffered loss due to price crash. He has been admitted to Chigateri district hospital with 60 per cent burns.