Compensation fails to reach kin of farmers

Pochubai, wife of deceased farmer Perumalla Istari

The Government order (GO) No . 194 issued by the state government enhancing the amount of compensation of Rs 6 lakh to families of the farmers who committed suicides has failed to enhance the confidence of the bereaved families in Adilabad district of Telangana.

Earlier, the government used to give Rs 1.50 lakh compensation under GO No . 421 to the families who committed suicide. The state government has issued GO. 194 in October 2015 with the retrospective effect from the formation of the Telangana state on June2.

The state government has failed to implement G0. 194 which was issued enhancing the compensation Rs 6 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh to the family of the deceased farmers who committed suicide due to mounted debts.

So far, compensation was sanctioned only to 38 deceased farmer families where as many as 222 farmers committed suicides in the Adilabad district since the formation of the state.

Suryavamshi Parameshwar committed suicide by hanging himself unable to handle debts in Tadithnoor in Narnoor mandal. Local Tahsildar visited deceased farmer’s home and collected details but nothing has been done as far as sanctioning compensation.

V.S Krishna, state general secretary of the Human Rights Forum (HRF) said the state government has literally failed to implement the GO No.194 issued enhancing compensation.

“In most cases, members of the divisional level committees led by RDO formed to verify the authenticity of the farmer suicide are not visiting the deceased’s house instead depending the local Tahsildar’ reports which are most of the time being rejected at divisional level”, he observed adding that same is the situation in all the district except Hyderabad and Medak.

Tenant farmers were 80 percent among the total farmers who committed suicides in the Telangana state and compensation was being denied to tenant farmers citing the lack of land ownership documents.

B. Kondal Reddy, representative of the Rythu Swarajya Vedika said compensation  was sanctioned to only three farmers who committed suicide from Utnoor division out of total sanctioned 38 in the district though farmer suicides were high in number in Utnoor division.

Kavitha, the wife of the deceased Suryavamshi Parameshwar who committed suicide in 2015, said they have cultivated cotton in the 10-acre land out of total 15 acres they had and there was only 2 quintal of cotton production in acre due to severe drought and added that they have lost a cotton crop in the last two seasons.  

She said they have incurred a huge loss due to crop loss and mounted debts due to a huge investment in cotton cultivation.

Same is the case with the Rahith Ramdas who committed suicide in Jaithram Thanda in Narnoor mandal and also Perumalla Isthari of Vaghapur of Adilabad mandal who committed suicide due to crop loss and mounted debts.

Adivasis caught in cop- Maoists crossfire

In the first incident of its kind in 10 years, An Adivasi was shot dead by Maoists who suspected that he was an informer for the police.

Maoists killed Adivasi Ballal Shah,25, of Kheriguda village in Tiryani mandal , a graduate , accusing him of being a police informer on Friday. The Maoists said in a letter that they had ‘warned’ him to mend his ways.

Adivasis caught in the cross fire between police and Maoists who are trying to gain the upper hand and are using the gullible Adivasis.

Both the police and Maoists are trying to lure the Adivasis for a grip on the interior Adivasi gudems. Maoists who are trying to get foothold are sending signals against those working with police.

The Maoists look to recruit the members to their outfit from Among the Adivasis while the police tries its best to lure Adivasis to strengthen their network in the interior villages.      

One police has been appointed to each village and phone numbers of the local police are written prominently on the walls in the villages to get the information about new persons entering the villages and villagers can seek the help of the police.

Police says publicizing their phone numbers was nothing but moving close to the people and extending their services to the interior villages and to create confidence among the people.

Police is also conducting sports events in the Adivasi gudems, during their festivals, distributing sports kits, providing training to the Adivasi youth for the recruitment examination of police, army recruitments and also other competitive examinations to win their hearts and wean them from the clutches of the Maoists.           

On the other hand, Maoists have started suspecting the youth using cell phones and also who frequently go to nearby towns and to police stations with any other work.           

Human Rights Forum (HRF) state secretary Atram Bhujanga Rao condemned killing of Adivasi youth and the police for luring Adivasi youth by offering inducements.

‘It was unfortunate that Adivasis have become the victims of the corrupt system and both the police and Maoists are using them as tools for their activities and in the process they are being victimized’.        

Earlier Maoists killed three persons accusing them of being police informers including Tiryani ZPTC member Hanumadla Mallaiah in 2003, Rompelli MPTC Ramchander in2004, Kirana shop owner Tirupati in Pangidi Madaram in 2005.

In 2006, Maoists killed Adivasi woman Saritha, accusing her of covert alleging that she attempted to kill Dalam members and Maoist leader Pulluriprasad Rao alias Chandranna by mixing the poison in the food on the direction of police and dumped her body on the outskirt of Asifabad. Now, Maoists killed Ballal Shah.

It may be recalled here that, Adivasis in Gatturaopalle in Kasipet mandal had detained a sub- inspector and four constables in a room in protest against the police thrashing four innocent villagers asking about the whereabouts of the Maoists and alleging that they gave food for Maoists following the incident of the exchange of fire between police Maoists in the area in July 31,2014.

Actually, local Adivasis were returning home along with empty utensils after celebrating their traditional puja to ‘Rajul devul’(traditional gods lives in jungles)  in the forest and after a community feast.