Farmers suicide: Financial assistance sought for the kin

Vijayawada: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) and Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) urged the Andhra Pradesh government to take immediate measures for the implementation of GO 43 that provides for financial compensation (Rs 7 lakh) and rehabilitation to the families of farmers, who committed suicide. The HRF felt that there has been considerable delay in the matter and hoped the government would respond and help the families of deceased farmers.

Human Rights Forum and Rytu Swarajya Vedika members B Kondal, K Anuradha and G Rohith, HRF State executive committee member VS Krishna, HRF AP&TS Coordination Committee member visited six families of the farmers, who had committed suicide between 2020 and 2021 in three mandals of Vuyyuru division in Krishna district. zAll the six deceased were tenant farmers, whose principal source of income was from agriculture. Some of these suicides have taken place well over a year ago and almost all families are in a state of serious distress and are barely able to get financial assistance from the government.

The fact-finding committee members said these farmers had taken their own lives out of sheer desperation since they were unable to sustain their families due to high cost of cultivation, adverse seasonal conditions and lack of remunerative prices for their produce. Given lack of access to institutional credit they were driven to borrow from private sources which over a period of time had resulted in huge debts piling up. This agrarian distress leading to suicide could easily have been established if officials had only visited the villages and elicited facts.

The victims were Kodali Ashok (44) of Katuru (village), Vuyyuru (mandal) and died on November 7, 2021; Nannapaneni Chandrasekhar (51) of Katuru (v), Vuyyuru (m) and died on November 12, 2021; Ede Veerabhadra Rao (59) of Kalavapamula (v), Vuyyuru mandal and died on March 3, 2021; Konatham Venkateswara Rao (38) of Marriwada, Pamidimukkala mandal and died on September 2, 2020; Somana Srinivasa Rao (55) of Krishnapuram (v), Pamidimukkala mandal and died on August 21, 2020; and Veeranki Srinivasa Rao (27) of Pedasanagallu (v), Movva mandal and died on August 22, 2020.