THANJAVUR: All that he wanted was to withdraw his money from the bank to buy fertiliser for the crops, repeat the grieving family, friends and other farmers who knew M Subramanian (72), a farmer from Manniyaru Vazhakai village near Kumbakonam, who died while standing in a queue at a bank branch on Saturday. The anger is palpable among the mourners who gathered at his house on Sunday.
Subramanian’s son, S Palanivel, had died in an accident seven years ago, so he had to take care of the farmland to support his son’s family – widowed daughter-in-law and two granddaughters. He had about Rs 21,000 in his account at the nationalised bank at Papanasam, which he needed to buy fertiliser for his crops. But when he visited the branch on Friday, he could withdraw only Rs 4,000 as the bank rationed cash disbursement.
“It was the second trip in as many days for my aged father-in-law to the bank branch in Papanasam, eight kilometres from here,” says a grieving Vijayalakshmi, Palanivel’s widow. She and their children, Akalya (12) and Anushree (8) were dependent on Subramanian’s income from the field.
On Saturday when he was to go to the bank, he felt he needed a help. His 62-year-old wife Thaiyalnayagi readily accompanied him. They reached the bank branch in an auto-rickshaw. After standing in queue for around one hour, Subramanian felt giddy and swooned and died in Vijayalakshmi’s lap.
“We are eligible to withdraw Rs 24,000 a week. Had Subramanian been given the money from his account to buy fertiliser for his two-acre land, he might have been alive now,” rued K Pitchaipillai, another farmer from the area.
G Saminathan (45), one of the five sons-in-laws of the deceased and a farmer himself from the village, alleged that the banks there disbursed only Rs 2,000 at a time, forcing the farmers to undertake multiple visits to the branches that are often far away from the village.
Even in his advanced age, Subramanian has been an active farmer who paid the crop insurance premium only last week. Speaking to Express, S Murugan, another farmer from Manniyaru Vazhkai, recalled seeing Subramanian for the last time when the latter was standing in queue to get application for crop insurance at Umayalpuram Primary Agricultural cooperative credit society (PACCS) a few days ago.
With the death of the sole bread winner of the family, Subramanian’s family of an aged woman, a young widow and two small girls is now finding itself in the crossroads.