JOIN USThree farmers reeling under debts ended lives in the State in the last 24 hours.
A debt-ridden farmer committed suicide by consuming poison at his house in Deshnur village of Bailhongal taluk in the district on Thursday.
According to the police, Ningappa Mallappa Kalyanhatti, 58, consumed pesticide at around 7 pm. Members of his family had immediately shifted him to the district hospital for treatment. However, he failed to respond to the treatment and passed away around midnight.
Ningappa had been cultivating a 14-acre land ancestral property belonging to his wife after shifting his base to Deshnur two decades ago. He had cultivated cotton in five acres and soyabean in eight acres. Since the crops had withered due to scanty rainfall, Ningappa destroyed them.
The farmer had borrowed Rs 60,000 from a society, Rs 50,000 under the Dharmasthala Rural Development project and Rs 2 lakh loan from private moneylenders for farming activities. This apart, six months ago, Ningappa had also purchased a tractor. Fearing he would be unable to repay the loans, he took the drastic step, said Arjun Basappawadi, a relative.
A farmer from Lakshmeshwar town committed suicide by consuming poison. The deceased, 55-year-old Hanumanthappa Fakeerappa Navi, was a resident of Halladakeri Onie. He had borrowed more than Rs three lakh loan, from various sources.
Hanumanthappa owned two acres and 28 gunta land and used to cultivate green gram. Failure of rainfall and resulted in the withering away of his crops. Upset over the failed crops and frustrated over his inability to repay the loans, he is said to have consumed poison in his fields. MLA Ramakrishna Doddamani met the family members of the deceased and expressed his condolences.
Basappa Thimmapur, a 45-year-old farmer and a resident of Agadi village in Haveri taluk, consumed poison and ended his life, late on Thursday night.
The deceased owned seven acres of land and used to cultivate maize and cotton. He had borrowed Rs 2.5 lakh loans and was unable to repay them due to crop failure. Frustrated, he is said to have ended his life.