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40% rise in farmer suicides in Maharashtra

Family disputes, loan drive three farmers to commit suicide - The Hindu

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Chinnaswamy (40), who committed suicide on Saturday, belonged to Kempina Koppalu in K.R. Pet taluk, Mandya district. Photo: By Arrangement


Three cases of famers allegedly committing suicides were reported at different parts of Mandya district on Saturday.

One committed suicide because of loans, and the other two due to family disputes and personal problems, the police said.

Heavy loans

Ramakrishna (35) committed suicide by hanging at his residence in Aipanahalli in K.R. Pet. He had availed a loan of Rs. 2.5 lakh from a bank to drill two borewells.

Both the borewells had failed to supply sufficient water to his farmland, Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, Superintendent of Police (Mandya), told The Hindu.

Family disputes

Prakash (30) of Doddapalya near Srirangapatna and Chinnaswamy (40) of Kempina Koppalu in K.R. Pet allegedly committed suicide owing to a family quarrel, police said.

Sometime later, Chinnaswamy’s wife Lathamani attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills at her residence. She is recovering in a local hospital, police said. Initial investigations suggest that both the farmers were depressed over family disputes, senior police officials said.

Cases registered

No suicide notes were recovered from the possessions of all three farmers. Cases of unnatural death have been registered, police said.
 
Debt ridden farmer who attempted suicide dies in hospital in Maharashtra | Zee News
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - 21:49
Yavatmal: An elderly farmer, who allegedly consumed poison over two weeks back apparently due to crop failure and non-waiver of farm loan, has died, officials said on Tuesday.


Pundlikrao Bapurao Supalkar, a resident of Dabha Pahur village in Babhulgaon tehsil of Yavatmal district in Vidarbha region, breathed his last in Government Medical College here yesterday.

The 65-year-old had been admitted to the hospital on June 29 when he consumed poison to end his life since he was distressed over crop failure and non-waiver of farm loan under the Government's restructuring scheme, his family said.

Supalkar has four acres of rain-fed land on which he had sown soyabean which failed due to non-arrival of monsoon. He had obtained loan from money lenders and attempted a second sowing which also failed due to lack of rain, they said.

He had also taken a loan from the Yavatmal District Central Co-Operative Bank which he could not repay. Though the Government has declared a scheme for restructuring of loan dues in order to enable farmers to get fresh credit, Supalkar did not get any relief under the programme, the sources said.

Resident Deputy Collector (RDC) Rajesh Kawle confirmed the death of Supalkar but did not provide further details, saying he is waiting for details from local officials which will be available in a week.

Supalkar's death is the latest in a series of farmers' deaths reported from Vidarbha.

PTI
 
Two farmers commit suicide in Tumakuru - The Hindu

Two farmers have allegedly committed suicide, one by consuming pesticide and the other by hanging from a tree, in Tumakuru district.

The police said Anil (19), resident of Doddakoppalu in Kunigal taluk, had consumed pesticide at around 8.30 p.m. on Monday and was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Mandya district but he died on Tuesday around 6 a.m.

A loan amounting to Rs. 4.5 lakh was in his father, Ganganna’s name. Two acres of land is also in the name of Ganganna. The loan amount included Rs.2, 80,000 from Canara Bank, Rs.1 lakh from private money lenders and Rs.50,000 from a society.

Ganganna was a sericulture farmer and had incurred a loss of Rs.1 lakh. His son was helping him in the business.

A case has been registered in Huliyurdurga police station.

Another farmer, Rangaswamy (50), allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree on the outskirts of Narayanakere village in Tumakuru taluk. The police said that the villagers saw his body and informed the police who recovered the body and sent it to post-mortem.

He did not have any land in his name but had taken one-and-half acre of land on lease and had grown ragi on it. He had four daughters and two of them have been married.

The police have not got any information on whether he had taken loan.

Villagers and neighbours say that he had constructed a new house under the Ashraya housing scheme one year ago and that he might have taken the loan for the purpose.

A case has been registered in Hebbur police station.
 
Farmer commits suicide in Athani taluk - The Hindu
Annappa, the grower who committed suicide in Athani taluk on Wednesday morning. Photo: Special Arrangement.
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A 28-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in Kokatnur village under Aigali Police Station limits of Athani taluk on Wednesday.

It is said that Annappa Balappa Gowda could not cope up and sustain the losses from farming, pressure of repayment of existing loans to banks and private money lenders and delay in payment by a sugar factory.

The Tahsildar and police officials from Athani have rushed to the spot. where the body of Annappa Balappa Gowda was found hanging to a neem tree in is agriculture field. Annappa Gowda, as usual, left home in the morning and hanged himself from a neem tree in an agriculture field, police officials who were conducting panchanama at the time of filing this report told THE HINDU.

The deceased farmer was the eldest among four sons of Baleppa Gowda, whose family owned four acres of agricultural non-irrigable land. The total loan stood at about Rs.2.50-Rs.3 lakh, including Rs.1.50 lakh from KVG Bank, Rs.50,000 from a cooperative society, besides hand loans from relatives and friends. Recently, he had spent nearly Rs.80,000 on borewells, which however, did not yield water and the money went down the drain.

Being the eldest son, Annappa explored other ways to earn money and entered into a contract with his paternal uncle to cultivate sugarcane in the latter’s land on 50:50 sharing basis. The sugarcane yield was supplied to a private factory on the outskirts of the village during the 2014-15 crushing season. The factory had credited Rs.95,000 to his uncle’s account and another Rs.2.65 lakh was due to be paid, local farmers’ leader Mahadev Madiwal and relatives of the deceased said.

A police official felt that Gowda might have been deeply frustrated after his father abused him for raising loans, putting the entire family under pressure.

This is the second suicide since grower Gurunath Mallappa Chapgaon of Badal Ankalgi of Belagavi taluk committed suicide on June 8 this year. Three other farmers attempted suicide but survived after they were given timely medical treatment.

6 more farmers in debt end lives

As many as six debt-stressed farmers have ended their lives in the State in the last 24 hours.

Rangaswamaiah (50), a farmer from Narayanakere of Tumakuru taluk, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at his farm on Monday night. He was was reeling under heavy debts. Anil, 19, ended his life by consuming poison at his house in Doddakoppalu village of Kunigal taluk in Tumakuru district. He had taken Rs 4.5 lakh from banks and moneylenders.

Nagaraj, a farmer from Mundagodu in Arakalgud taluk of Hassan district. committed suicide on Monday night. Nagaraj, along with his father Rajappa, had availed Rs eight lakh from a bank. He had also taken loans from moneylenders. Unable to repay, Nagaraj consumed poison at his house on Saturday. He was rushed to a hospital in Hassan where he died two days later.

Upset over fall in cocoon prices in the market, a farmer involved in cocoon-rearing committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at his farm at Kondlahalli in Molakalmuru taluk of Chitradurga district. Police identified the deceased as Giriyappa (64). He had taken Rs eight lakh from banks and moneylenders.

Nagappa Byadagi (55) ended his life by jumping in front of a moving train near Yalvigi in Savanur taluk of Haveri district. He had borrowed loan to the tune of Rs five lakh from nationalised bank and private finance companies.

Sabu Shivarudrappa Talakeri, 62, was found dead at a cow shed in Ghote village of Jamkhandi taluk on Bagalkot district. Sabu had grown tur dal on his four-acre rain-fed farm. Lack of water had blunted the growth of tur dal crop.
 
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Updated: July 17, 2015 05:44 IST
‘No strong-arm tactics in loan recovery by public sector banks’ - The Hindu
Only reminder is sent if there is a default in payment: SBM
The spate of farmers’ suicides reported from the region in recent weeks has often been attributed to usury practices by private money lenders rather than the recovery process initiated by nationalised banks.

Despite other factors, debt traps due to “bank loans” is frequently mentioned as one of the causes for farmers suicide.

But there has not been a single case in which a farmer’s property has been attached by nationalised banks for the non-repayment of crop loans during the last 10 or 15 years, according to bank officials.

K.N. Shivalingaiah, Lead Bank Manager, State Bank of Mysore, told The Hindu that nationalised banks never resort to strong-arm tactics in loan recovery in rural areas. They only send a reminder to the farmer of default in EMI payments.

“Scan any newspaper advertisement of the last 10 years and it pertains only to loan recovery in urban areas by way of sale of property mortgaged against loan that has turned bad,” said Mr. Shivalingaiah.

“We have attached commercial properties, vehicles etc in case of secured loans that go bad but have never attached agricultural land or farmers’ property for loan recovery,” he added.

Another senior official said that though agricultural or crop loans tend to turn into non-performing assets (NPA), farmers are convinced to clear at least the pending EMIs and regularise their payment schedule. “But in case they are unable to do it, then the loan is renewed and a fresh loan is sanctioned for a higher amount if the interest outstanding is paid,” said the official. The farmers get more time for repaying the new loan and the banks recover the outstanding dues from the new loan thus resolving the NPA issue for the current year.

The notices issued by public sector banks tend to be a mere formality and the farmers are aware of it, according to the official.

N. Pinageeswaran, Chief Manager, SyndicateBank, said that an account becomes an NPA only if there is no repayment for two consecutive seasons but they have a provision to renew it for another year.

Based on the policy decision crop loss due to vagaries of nature also qualify for waiver. Though there are wilful defaulters their property is never attached, he added.

All figures up to March 31{+s}{+t}, 2015

Total advances by public sector banks in Mysuru district across all sectors - Rs.15,043 crore

Total agricultural loan released during 2014-15 – Rs.951 crore

Total outstanding agricultural loan – Rs.7561 crore

Total agricultural loan accounts in the district – 3.7 lakh
 
Two farmers commit suicide in Tumakuru district - The Hindu

Updated: July 18, 2015 15:14 IST
Two farmers allegedly committed suicide in Tumakuru talluk on Saturday.

A 55-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a tree in Nandihalli in Tumakuru taluk on Saturday morning. The police said that the deceased has been identified as Halappa alias Allappa, resident of Nandihalli.

He had taken Rs. 3 lakh loan from private money lenders, but his land had been acquired by the KIADB.

He has two daughters, both married, and a son working in Bengaluru.

A case has been registered in Kora police station.

Suicide in school

A 31-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a beam in government primary school in Konemadenahalli in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district on Saturday morning.

The police said that the deceased has been identified as Vedamurthy of Konemadenahalli.

He had four acres of land where he had grown arecanut and plantain, but the crop had dried up.

He had taken loan amounting to Rs. 2.5 lakh from the State Bank of Mysore and Kaveri Grameena Bank.

A case has been registered in Gubbi police station.
 
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Activists have criticised the NCRB for ‘manipulating’ the data to paint a ‘rosy picture’ on the agriculture front. File Photo: Vivek Bendre

Maharashtra records most farmer suicides: NCRB - The Hindu
Chhattisgarh records the fourth highest in the country.
With 2,568 farmers’ suicides during 2014, Maharashtra recorded the highest number in the country, though activists pointed out that the number was far higher.

The data released on Friday by the National Crime Records Bureau also show that Chhattisgarh is among the top four States in farmers’ suicides.

According to the NCRB, Maharashtra recorded 578 fewer suicides than 2013, when 3,146 farmers ended their lives.

Activists, however, criticised the NCRB for “manipulating” the data to paint a “rosy picture”.

“They [the NCRB] have deliberately divided the suicides under different heads. The report says 4,004 agriculture-related suicides were recorded in Maharashtra during 2014 and then subtracts agricultural workers from the number and gives 2,568 as the total figure. But even with 2,568, Maharashtra tops the country, and for the first time, the government has admitted that the landless farmers are also dying,” said Kishor Tiwari, who runs Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, a farmers’ advocacy group.

“The total number of farmers’ suicides in Maharashtra should be 4,004, which is almost 1,000 more than the 2013 figure. It’s shameful if the government takes credit for 500-odd fewer suicides. The issue is getting complicated everyday in Maharashtra. Farmers are not getting proper prices for their produce, but input costs are rising. Maharashtra has recorded over 2,000 farmers’ suicide until June this year. Over 800 farmers have killed themselves in Vidarbha and over 600 farmers committed suicide in Marathwada,” Mr. Tiwari said.

Chattisgarh’s entry

According to the data, 443 farmers committed suicide in Chhattisgarh during 2014, making it the State with the fourth highest number after Maharashtra, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. The State has rarely figured in the list of farm suicides earlier. State Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrwal, however, termed the NCRB data “misleading and based on a wrong analysis.”

“These numbers are wrong, and there are no such incidents in Chhattisgarh,” he told The Hindu.

He questioned the authenticity of the data and said: “I don’t know how they [the NCRB] issued it. As per our knowledge, there are no farmers’ suicides in the State.”
 
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah offered floral tributes to Shivalingegowda's portrait.
In a bid to instil confidence among farmers’ in distress owing to various agriculture related reasons, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday met the families of two farmers who committed suicide in the district.

He visited the families of Shivalingegowda at Honnanayakana Halli and Rajendra of Chinnena Halli and patiently listened to the despairs of the farming community. However, district in-charge Minister M.H. Ambareesh did not step into the residence of Shivalingegowda at Honnanayakana Halli.
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Stop politicising farmer suicides: KRRS - The Hindu
Updated: July 19, 2015 18:22 IST
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‘Mere sympathy, some financial help will not solve the issue’
Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene have lambasted political parties for politicising farmer suicides in Karnataka.

Addressing press persons in Hubballi on Sunday, KRRS President Chamarasa Mali Patil and General Secretary Badagalpur Nagendra criticised the political parties.

Farmer suicides show the failure of the Narendra Modi-led Union Government and Siddaramaiah-led State Government in protecting the interests of farmers.

Political figures made a beeline to meet the families of the deceased farmers, after suicides were reported. “Everybody is engaged in politics. They do not understand that mere sympathy and some financial assistance is not the solution to the problem,” Mr. Nagendra said.

Solution

“A practical solution for the problems of farmers is the need of the hour. If political parties are serious about helping farmers, they should try and find a long-term solution to the problem, which is the result of the liberalisation, privatization and globalisation (LPG) policies,” Mr. Mali Patil said.

“KRRS had vehemently opposed the signing of GATT agreement and wanted agriculture to be kept out of it. However it did not happen and the crisis we see today in agriculture is the effect of the same,” he said.

Committee

Mr. Nagendra said that KRSS did not fully agree with the recommendations of the G.K. Veeresh Committee that submitted a report on the farmers’ suicides in Karnataka a decade ago. “A lot has changed in these years. The Government should set up another committee to study the issue and come up with new recommendations,” he said.

To a query, Mr. Nagendra said that KRRS will initiate programmes to develop cooperative spirit of helping each other in the farming sector.
 
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
21-July, 2015 15:37 IST
Government proposes direct subsidy transfer on fertilizers to farmers
The government proposes direct fertilizer subsidy transfer to farmers’ bank account. However, a major challenge in operationalizing this scheme lies in identification of beneficiary farmers as in many states the land records are neither accurate nor updated. Therefore, the Department of Fertilizers plans to have a phased approach and prepare a road map for pilot project in select districts to capture the details/identity proof of buyer’s (Aadhaar Number/ Land Details) at retail fertilizer stores in order to build a comprehensive database of beneficiary farmers over a period of time.


Department of Fertilizers has issued Notification dt. 25.05.2015 whereby it has been made mandatory for all the indigenous producers of urea to produce 100% as Neem Coated Urea (NCU). Since NCU cannot be used for industrial purposes, illegal diversion of subsidized urea to non-agricultural uses would not be possible. By curbing this illegal diversion of Urea for non-agricultural purposes, the Government aims to prevent the subsidy leakages.


The mechanism put in place to keep prices of P&K fertilizers at reasonable rates is as under:

(A) It has been made mandatory for the fertilizer companies to submit, the cost data of their fertilizer products from 2012-13 onwards in prescribed format on six monthly basis. The Department has also appointed Cost Accountants/Firms to scrutinize the said cost data to ensure that the prices fixed by the fertilizers companies are reasonable.

(B) It has also been stipulated in the provisions that in cases, where after scrutiny, unreasonableness of MRP is established or where there is no correlation between the cost of production or acquisition and the MRP printed on the bags, the subsidy would be restricted or denied even if the product is otherwise eligible for subsidy under NBS Scheme. In proven case of abuse of subsidy mechanism, the Department of Fertilizers, on the recommendation of Inter-Ministerial Committee may exclude any grade/grades of fertilizers of a particular company or the fertilizer company itself from the NBS Scheme.

The following steps are being taken by the Government to meet the requirement of fertilizers to the farmers in all State/UTs:-

(1) The month-wise demand is assessed and projected by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation (DAC) in consultation with the State Governments before commencement of each cropping season.

(2) On the basis of month-wise & State-wise projection given by the DAC, Department of Fertilizers allocates sufficient/adequate quantities of fertilizers to States by issuing monthly supply plan and continuously monitors the availability through following system:

(i) The movement of all major subsidized fertilizers is being monitored throughout the country by an on-line web based monitoring system(www.urvarak.co.in) also called as Fertilizer Monitoring System (FMS);

(ii) The State Governments are regularly advised to coordinate with manufacturers and importers of fertilizers for streamlining the supplies through timely placement of indents for railway rakes through their state institutional agencies like Markfed etc.

(iii) Regular Weekly Video Conferences is conducted jointly by Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC), Department of Fertilizers (DoF), and Ministry of Railways with State Agriculture Officials and corrective actions are taken to dispatch fertilizer as indicated by the State Governments.

(iv) The gap in the demand and domestic production of fertilizer is met through imports.

The availability of all the fertilizers in almost all the states is adequate.

Department of Fertilizers has issued New Urea Policy 2015 on 25th May, 2015 with twin objectives of maximizing indigenous urea production and promoting energy efficiency in the urea units to reduce the subsidy burden on the Government.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir in reply to an Unstarred Question in the Lok Sabha today.


***
 
Last Updated: Thursday, July 23, 2015 - 14:40
Why people, including farmers, commit suicide in India? | Zee News


Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The issue of farmers' suicide has been jolting the country's conscience for years and for the first time the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has collected detailed data in this regard.


A total of 5,650 farmers committed suicide during 2014, accounting for 4.3 percent of total suicide victims in the country, the data of 2014 says.

‘Bankruptcy or indebtedness’ and ‘family problems’ are the major causes of suicides, accounting for 20.6 percent and 20.1 percent respectively of total farmers’ suicides during 2014. The other prominent causes of farmers’ suicides were ‘Failure of Crop’ (16.8%), ‘Illness’ (13.2%) and ‘Drug Abuse/Alcoholic Addiction’ (4.9%).

This is to be noted that `Family Problems` excluded `Marriage Related Issues`.

The state/UT and city-wise information suggests a total of 2,568 farmers’ suicides were reported in Maharashtra followed by 898 in Telangana and 826 in Madhya Pradesh, accounting for 45.5 percent, 15.9 percent and 14.6 percent respectively of total farmer suicides during 2014.

Chhattisgarh (443 suicides) and Karnataka (321 suicides) accounted for 7.8% and 5.7% respectively of the total farmer suicides reported in the country. These five states together accounted for 89.5 percent of the total farmers' suicides (5,056 out of 5,650)

reported in the country during 2014.

The NCRB data of 2014 suggests that the number of suicides in the country during

the decade 2004–2014 has recorded an increase of 15.8 percent (1,31,666 in 2014 from 1,13,697 in 2004). The rate of suicides has been, however, showing declining trend since 2010.

The highest incidents of 16,307 suicides were reported in Maharashtra followed by 16,122 suicides in Tamil Nadu and 14,310 suicides in West Bengal accounting for 12.4 percent, 12.2 percent and 10.9 percent respectively of total suicides.

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, has reported comparatively lower percentage share of suicidal deaths, accounting for only 2.7 percent of the total suicides reported in the country.

‘Other Family Problems’ and ‘Illness’ were the major causes of suicides among the specified causes, accounting for 21.7 percent and 18.0 percent respectively of total suicides. ‘Marriage Related Issues’ (5.1 percent), ‘Love Affairs’ (3.2 percent), ‘Drug Abuse/Addiction’ (2.8 percent), ‘Bankruptcy or Indebtedness’ and ‘Failure in Examination’ both accounted for 1.8 percent each, ‘Unemployment’ (1.7 percent), ‘Poverty’ (1.3 percent), ‘Property Dispute’ (0.8 percent), ‘Death of Dear Person’ (0.7 percent) were other causes of suicides.

The overall male:female ratio of suicide victims for the year 2014 was 67.7:32.3.

Youth (18 and above - below 30 years) and middle aged people (30 and above - below

45 years) were the prime groups taking recourse to the path of suicides.

Out of total 89,129 males suicides, maximum suicides were committed by self-employed (22,974), followed by daily wagers (13,944). A total of 42,521 females committed suicides during 2014 in the country. 20,148 females who committed suicides were housewives followed by students (3,807) and self-employed person (2,928).

It was observed that 65.9 percent of the suicide victims were married while 21.1 percent were unmarried.

The means adopted for committing suicide varied from the easily available means such as consumption of poison, jumping into the well etc to more painful means such as self-inflicted injuries, hanging, shooting, etc.
 
Impotency, love affairs top reasons behind farmer suicides: Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh - The Hindu
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, however, does not rule out debt as one of the reasons behind the suicides of 5,650 farmers in 2014.
Dowry, love affairs and impotency were among the reasons for the deaths of over 1,400 farmers in India this year, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Friday.

“According to the National Crime Records Bureau, causes of (farmer) suicides include family problems, illness, drugs... dowry, love affairs and impotency,” he told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question as to what caused the death of so many farmers in the country.

The Minister’s reply, however, did not rule out debt as one of the reasons.

The remarks on suicide by over 1,400 farmers in the last one year, by the government’s own admission, are bound to provide fresh fodder to a belligerent opposition, which has been targeting the Narendra Modi government on the controversial land bill, dubbed as “anti-farmer and anti-poor”.

A total of 5,650 farmers committed suicide in 2014, with the maximum deaths reported from Maharashtra, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, official data revealed.

According to “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2014” report released by the bureau, of the 5,650 farmers who committed suicide, 5,178 were men and 472 were women.

“The highest incidents of 2,568 suicides of farmers were in Maharashtra (45.5 per cent), followed by 898 suicides in Telangana (15.9 per cent) and 826 in Madhya Pradesh (14.6 per cent),” the data revealed.

“Telangana reported the maximum cases of female farmers’ suicides at 31.1 per cent followed closely by Madhya Pradesh (29.2 per cent), and Maharashtra (14.1 per cent),” it added.

Bankruptcy/indebtedness and family problems were major causes behind the suicides, accounting for 20.6 per cent and 20.1 per cent of the deaths respectively. Other causes included crop failure (16.8 per cent) and illness (13.2 per cent).

The report revealed that 65.75 per cent of the farmers who committed suicide were in the age group of 30 to 60. In all, 59 were below 18 years of age. Even though 15 people took their lives every hour in 2014, the overall suicide figures witnessed a drop from 1,34,799 in 2013 to 1,31,666 in 2014, the NCRB said.

Here again, Maharashtra reported the maximum suicides (16,307), followed closely by Tamil Nadu (16,122) and West Bengal (14,310).

In addition, Bhopal reported a significant increase in the number of suicides — from 384 in 2013 to 1,064 in 2014, an increase of 177 per cent, while suicides declined by 78.7 per cent in Kanpur — from 648 in 2013 to 138 in 2014.
 
One more farmer commits suicide in Belagavi - The Hindu
Updated: July 25, 2015 14:48 IST
With one more farmer committing suicide in Ramdurg taluk on Saturday morning, the death toll has gone up to ten in the district, this year.

Bavasab Fakrusab Yendigeri (55) hanged himself from a tree in an agricultural field in his village Soppadla. He is survived by two sons and two daughters, all married.

The post-mortem was performed at the government hospital at Ramdurg and the body was handed over to the family on Saturday.

Basavab owned four acres and 39 guntas of agricultural land. His son Havalsab, who lodged a complaint with the Ramdurg police, claimed that his father was under stress for not being able to clear bank loans accounting for a sum of Rs. 1.62 lakh, which he had availed from the State Bank of India, the DCC bank and a local co-operative society.

Though the police are still investigating the cause of the suicide, they are reportedly not convinced that a farmer owning nearly five acres would have a loan of just Rs. 1.62 lakh. The police and officials of Agriculture and Revenue departments are looking into other possible reasons.

According to his family, Bavasab lost his wife due to a paralytic attack last year.
 
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Family members of farmer T. Rambabu, who attempted suicide.- photo: T. Appala Naidu
Tenant farmer consumes poison, battling for life - The Hindu

A 46-year-old tenant farmer, Thalari Rambabu, on Saturday committed suicide by consuming pesticide on the paddy field at Mallavolu village of Guduru mandal in Krishna district. Doctors who have treated him at the local corporate hospital told The Hindu that he was battling for life but responding to medical treatment.

“Mr. Rambabu had consumed pesticide and at least further 48 hours are required for his fully recovery, given the quantity of pesticide he consumed”, opined the doctors. Mr. Rambabu had reportedly resorted to the extreme step, reportedly after failure of the paddy saplings planted on a piece of two-acre land. “Nearly Rs. 40,000 has been spent alone on irrigation and other farm activities such as raising nursery and sowing the paddy plants in the extent of the two acres. We also bought a small motor-based pump set worth of Rs. 30,000 to cultivate entire five acres of land under tenancy”, said T. Nageswaramma, wife of the farmer.

“My husband had started worrying about meeting input cost after the paddy plantation sowing on the land has been dried up due to lack of timely rains. We owe nearly Rs. 70,000 to different sources and uncertainty prevailed to cultivate rest of the three acres of land this season”, added Ms. Nageswaramma.

On Saturday, Mr. Rambabu had attended the paddy fields while his wife was sent for farm work to earn income during the ongoing Kharif season. “Locals informed me about the incident on Saturday while I was busy in sowing of paddy saplings near the village”, added Ms. Nageswaramma accompanied by her daughter at the hospital here.

The Guduru police on Saturday registered the statement of the family members of the farmer and registered a case. Mr. Rambabu’s family members alleged that they were not eligible for agriculture crop loan as they could not be able to establish their tenancy till date.
 
Four more farmers end life - The Hindu

The number of farmers who died in the last 24 hours went up to four.

Eshwarappa Doddappa Pujari (50), a farmer from Mudanur village in Surpur taluk of Yadgir district, committed suicide by consuming pesticide on Sunday evening.

According to the complaint filed by wife Gouramma, mounting debt and crop failure was the reason behind his death. The farmer owned six acres of land on which he was cultivating cotton, but a crash in prices had led to huge losses.

A case has been registered in Kembhavi police station.

In Hassan, Nagaraj (45) of Adenahalli in Channarayapatna taluk took the extreme step on Monday afternoon.

A notice asking for clearance of loan from a cooperative bank reportedly prompted him to it. He has left behind wife and two sons.

The Shravanabelagola police, who registered the case, said the farmer had taken a loan of Rs. 3.2 lakh from a cooperative bank and from State Bank of India. The bank had served him notice, which reached him four days ago, asking him to clear the dues by August 5.

Failed monsoon and mounting debt drove Ramappa Hanumappa Talawar (60) of Bandiwad village of Hubballi taluk, Dharwad district, to commit suicide on Monday.

He had reportedly taken loan from a nationalised bank and a hand-loan from a few people.

According to family members, he had been cultivating chilli for the kharif season and it failed because of deficient monsoon.

Hubballi tahsildar H.D. Nagavi and Navalgund MLA N.H. Konaraddi visited Bandiwad on Monday to console the family members. Mr. Konaraddi gave Rs. 25,000 from his personal funds to the family. The Hubballi Rural Police have registered a case.

Manje Gowda (40) of Jadaganahalli in Chikkamagaluru taluk, who had attempted suicide on Sunday, died in a private hospital in Hassan on Monday.

Manje Gowda had taken a loan from private moneylenders. The Chikkamagaluru Rural police have registered a case.


 
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