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.

Failed borewells add to TS farmers' woes

 Deceased farmer's son Mangilal at failed borewell

Farmers digging borewells indiscriminately on their agriculture fields for water source but incurred huge loss as most of the borewells have failed to give water due to drastic fall in the ground water table due to successive drought conditions.

Story of the Rathod Yashwanthrao,50, of Kalva Thanda of Dilawarpur mandal is a classic example to how failed borewells turning into one of the reasons for farmer  suicides in Telangana.

He dug up four borewells on his agriculture fields in the last one month but did not get water. Rathod Yashwanthrao committed suicide by hanging himself to a tree close to his agriculture fields January9. 

More expenditure is being incur for digging borewells as most of the famers are going up to 400 feet deep to get water to find water due to drastic fall in the ground water table and an average farmers is spending more than Rs 25,000 each for digging borewell. This is result of lack of rain water conservation to increase ground water table.

Rathod Mangilal, son of deceased farmer Yashwanthrao who discontinued his Degree said, his father invested major share of loans he had taken from various sources invested on digging borewells with a hope that they may bring fortune but the failed borewells had ended up their family in now where.         

Telangana Vidyavanthula Vedika district president Dr U. Krishnam Raju said, ‘digging borewells was nothing but gambling and added that people investment money in both only with the hope but there was lot of uncertainty involved in it and observed that it is high time for the government to take steps for rain water conservation to improve the ground water table which will go a long way’.

Farmers are investing huge money on digging borewells on their agriculture lands and some of them become crazy of digging bore wells in the villages on seeing one another but the success rate is low when compared to Agriculture wells.

Rathod Yashwanthrao went to Dubai in search of job four years ago after he uncured huge loss in the agriculture in his four acre land and mainly he invested huge money on digging borewells. He returned one year ago just to start again agriculture.

Yashwanthrao was popular in his village as ‘crazy person of digging borewells’ with a hope that he too gets water for his fields like his neighbors but he could not succeed in his efforts.  

Villagers say Yashwanthrao dug up more than 20 borewells in his agriculture fields in the last 15 years. He had taken loan Rs 98,000 from local bank and Rs 5 lakh loan from private money lender.

Spurious seeds add to woes of farmers in TS

RANC member collecting details from wife of a deceased farmer   

The New Year has not brought about any change of fortune for the farmers in Adilabad district of Telangana. Four farmers including a woman farmer, have committed suicide in the past seven days.

Matters appear set to go from bad to worse, with the prevailing drought conditions suggesting that crops could fail even in Rabi, like they did in Kharif last year.

According to Rythu Athmahatyala Nivarana committee, as many as 101 farmers ended their lives in 2015, while 73 committed suicide in the six months of 2014 ( June 2 to December 31) in the Adilabad district.         

Repeated crop failure and inability to repay the loans taken from the banks and private money lenders are primary causes of the distressed farmers taking the extreme step.

This year, the first farmer to end his life was Pandiri Peddaposhanna, 55 of Borigoan village in Sarangapur mandal who consumed pesticide on Jannuary2 in the New Year.

Subsequently, Chedigiri Chandrabai,65, of Vaddadi village in Tamsi ended her life  on January 5, followed by Gone Ramdas,48, Masala (B) village in Bela mandal on January 6 and Donipelli Mallaiah ,55, of Gurija village of Gudihathnoor mandal on January7.

Peddaposhanna had one acre of land and had taken another five acres on lease to cultivate cotton. He incurred huge loss as crop failed. A similar fate befell Mallaiah, who owned eight acres and took another 10 acres on lease.

Rythu Athmahatyala Nivarana Committee, district convenor Sangepu Borranna, said that as many as 10 farmers committed suicide in December, 2015 while four members in the New Year till January7.

‘Farmers had incurred huge loss this time because of sowing spurious seeds in addition to the drought conditions. As many as 74 verities of spurious cotton seed were detected in the state, 12 of them found in Adilabad district’, he said.

Young farmers who taken up agriculture with passion these days have lost hope and committed suicides.

According to Agriculture experts, enormous use of pesticides and fertilizers and huge investments and spurious seeds weaken these young farmers in particular and farmers in general.

The soil loses fertility with the much use of fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers spraying pesticides and applying fertilizers to the crops indiscriminately by competing with one another in the rural areas feeling that they will get more yield but the soil become toxic.

The state government has issued GO: 194 extending Rs 6 lakh compensation to the family of each farmer who committed suicide. However, in most cases, the mandal level committee is rejecting the claim of and reports are not reaching the division level committee.

Farmer leaders want the state government to take into consideration the gram sabha and police report instead of three-man committee report to release compensation to the deceased farmer’s families.

There are allegations that even some of the local ruling party leaders are making efforts to project the farmer suicides differently with the opinion that their government will be blamed for the farmers’ suicides. 

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