THOOTHUKUDI : In yet another distress death due to crop damage, a 44-year-old large farmer from Padarnthapuli village near Ettayapuram in the district died of cardiac arrest in the wee hours of Saturday.
Subbaiah (44), son of Perumal, was under severe stress over repaying the farm loans he had taken as the crops he had risen had withered due to monsoon failure. Sources said Subbaiah had borrowed `5 lakh from a private finance company by pledging his wife’s gold ornaments to cultivate 50 acres of his agricultural land.
He had raised maize on 30 acres, black gram on 10 acres and green gram and cholam on 5 acres each. The crops had died due to scanty rains and this sent him into a state of worry, sources said.
His brother Rengasamy (50) said Subbaiah used to regularly visit his fields and had worriedly discussed the ways and means to repay the debts. “I asked him to keep his cool and not to get vexed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Subbaiah woke up, complaining of chest pain, at about 2.30 am on Saturday. He lamented over the accruing debts even as he was having the pain, but managed to sleep after some time. Though his routine was to get up at 4.30 am, he did not wake up. Since he was lying without any sign of movement, his family members rushed him to a private hospital in Ettayapuram where he was declared brought dead.