Farmer suicides on the rise in Adilabad

interacting with Kalabai, wife of deceased farmer Lachanna 

Farmer suicides have been rising in the last two months in the district. Farmers, affected by the prolonged dry spell, untimely rains and resultant poor yields were the ones who took the extreme step. 

As many as 14 farmers have committed suicide in the last two months in the district. Some of them were young, bellow 30 years of age.

According to sources, six farmers committed suicide in July and another six in August. Two farmers have ended their life this month in the district. the majority of these suicides took place due to mounted debt and lack of germination of seeds.

As many as 50 farmers have committed suicide till now from January, 2016.

A many as 224 farmers- 73 in 2014, 101 in 2015 and 50 in 2016 have committed suicide in the Adilabad district in Telangana state. The state government has issued GO: 173 enhancing the compensation to Rs 6 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh.

Famers had taken loans from the private moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates  and in the second round of sowing, incurred a huge loss in the process. The distressed farmers went for second sowing and incurred a huge loss in terms of investment cost. Unwanted rains and subsequent floods caused some damage to the standing crops.

Among those who committed suicide were Mekala Lachanna,52, of Dhanora village and Gajjeri Gajananad, 24, of Karanji village in both in Tamsi; Bhanoth Maruthi,30, of  Khairiguda in Rebbena mandal.

Tenant farmer Mekala Lachanna of Dhanora and Adivasi farmer Atram Mutta,38, of  Kakarbuddi of Sirpur(U) committed suicide on September1.

Lachanna took the 14 acres of land on lease and cultivated cotton in eight acres, turmeric in three acres and soya in two acres but lost cotton due to prolonged dry spell. He incurred a huge loss due to second sowing.

His wife Kalabai said they had borrowed Rs 3 lakh from private moneylenders and intermediaries for agriculture and her husband took the extreme step because of disappointment over the poor germination of seeds and mounting debt.               

Rythu Athmahatyala Nivarana Committee district president Sangepu Borranna said farmer suicides were on the rise since two months due to floods and prolonged dry spell and added that the weather conditions had played spoilsport.

He said the three-men committee at mandal and division level were not considering these suicides as related to agriculture distress.

There was prolonged dry spell in August when plants need moisture in the soil to grow. There was unwanted heavy rain in July and floods inundated the standing crops in some part of the district.

According to sources, the average district actual rainfall was 915.3 mm from June1 to September 12. As many as 42 mandals received normal rainfall, six mandals  got excessive rainfall while there was rain deficit in four mandals in the district.

The huge delay in banks giving crop loans and low scale of finance forced farmers to approach private moneylenders. Most of the tenant farmers did not get crop loans from the banks for Kharif.

Road connectivity improves

Road connectivity is improving gradually in the villages and connectivity to the district head quarters from Mandal head quarters with state government taking up laying new roads on priority in the recent past in the Adilabad district of Telangana.

One can see the improving road connectivity in the interior areas of Adilabad and Sirpur (T) Assembly constituencies.       

New culverts and bridges are being constructed in place of existing low-level bridges in the tribal areas in Adilabad and Sirpur (T) Assembly constituencies and also in village in Chennur Assembly constituency where the existing the low-level bridged used to be submerged in the flood waters.

New internal roads are being laid in the villages and also connectivity to mandal head quarters and also connecting mandal headquarters to district head quarters.     

The flood situation affects the transportation to the interior villages located in the district. Roads and bridges sanctioned under Panchayatraj and R&B departments with the estimated cost of Rs 2,930 cores in the district.

Of the total, Rs 1,700 crore had been sanctioned for works under R& B and Rs 1,230 crore under Panchayatraj in the district.  

Of the total Rs 1,700 under Roads and Building department, as many as Rs 514.3 crores towards 21 road works between Mandal headquarters to district headquarters, Rs 284.77 crores for 22 road works of converting the single road to double roads, Rs 418 crore for 86 new bridges and Rs 122.2 crores for 54 repairs works in the district.

Proposal are being prepared for laying a road for the distance of 80 km between Bejjur to Chennur to improve the road connectivity in between the most backward mandals in eastern part of the district.

New blacktop (BT) roads had been laid in the Sirsanna, Guda and Rampur, Akoli, Deepaiguda, Pippalgoan , Landa Sanghi , Arli, and Neerala village in Jainad mandal and some of the roads are under progress in the same mandal. Double road is being laid between Adilabad to Bela via Jainad.  

Double road was laid from Both X roads to Boath town enabling the free flow of transportation in Boath Assembly constituency.

‘Laying new roads are visible development in the villages these days in some mandals and that is why the ruling TRS government is giving much priority to the roads and added that road connectivity brings development to the interior villages’, a senior political leader of the district observed.

Penganga initiative hailed