Three debt-ridden farmers commit suicide, another sets fire to sugar cane crop

Three more debt-stressed farmers from Mandya and Mysuru districts have committed suicide while a dejected sugar cane grower set the crop ablaze in Maddur taluk on Thursday.

A farmer who is reeling under heavy debts and whose dues were not cleared, set fire to ready-for-harvesting sugarcane crop on his three-acre farm at Kudargundi village in the taluk.

 It is learnt, farmer K B Shankar had grown sugarcane on three acres of farm. The cane is ready for harvesting but no one has come forward to but the cane. NSL Sugar factory used to buy the cane every year. But the factory is not willing to buy the cane this year. 

Add to it, the hapless farmer had availed loans running into Rs 9.85 lakh from a nationalised bank, PLD Bank and private moneylenders.

The farmer poured his woes to Deccan Herald, “I had got a bumper yield this year. If the NSL sugar factory had bought 250 tonnes of sugar cane grown on three acres of farm, I would have received Rs 3 lakh. This would have helped me to make part payments. Also, the cane is drying due to lack of water as the authorities have stopped releasing water in the canal. I destroyed cane so that I can utilise the land for cultivating other crops.”

The farmer threatened to jump into the fire if the fire department personnel try to douse the flames.

Roadblock

After learning about the incident, hundreds of farmers in the surrounding villages protested inaction of the government by holding a roadblock on Bengaluru-Mysuru highway near Gejjalagere. Because of which the vehicular movement on the busy road was affected for a while. The agitating farmers pressed the government to take steps to clear the dues of sugar cane growers and release water to the canal immediately. 

Farmer ends life 

A debt-stressed farmer of Madappanakoppalu village under Kesturu hobli of the Maddur taluk committed suicide by hanging himself at his house on Thursday.

The deceased farmer has been identified as Nanjundaiah (60). The farmer had grown sugar cane on his 2.5 acres of farm. The cane was ready for harvesting but the factory to which he used to supply the cane was not willing to buy it. 

It is said, he had taken crop loans of Rs 4 lakh and the factory which had bought cane last year had not cleared his due of Rs 80,000. Because of which he had slipped into depression. The farmer is survived by his wife, six daughters and two sons. MLA D C Tammanna, Assistant Commissioner Arul Kumar, Tahsildar Manjegowda among others visited the village.

2 Hunsur farmers end life

Two debt-ridden farmers in the taluk committed suicide by consuming unknown poison on Thursday in Hunsur taluk.

Sannaswamegowda (45), a farmer from Mudalakoppalu in Hunsur taluk of Mysuru district, ended life by consuming unknown poison at his house on Thursday. 

Sannaswamegowda had applied for loan in Vijaya Bank to repay the loans he had taken earlier from private money lenders. After he learnt that the bank had rejected his loan application, the farmer took the drastic step. 

In another incident reported at Chennasoge, a 34-year-old farmer committed suicide by consuming unknown poison at his house. The victim Umesh had suffered losses in cultivating cotton and tobacco. As many as five farmers in Hunsur taluk have ended their life in the past two weeks.