HYDERABAD: Days after the state government on the floor of Assembly stated that agriculture sector in the state is getting all possible support and farmers are happy, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics revelation that Telangana stands second in farmers’ suicides among all the states in the country during 2015 came as an embarrassment to the state government. The NCRB statistics show that Telangana witnessed more suicides by women farmers.
Of the total number of suicides in farming sector, Maharashtra contributed to 3,030 suicides of farmers/cultivators followed by Telangana (1,358). Andhra Pradesh accounted for 516 suicides of farmers/cultivators, the NCRB report said. A total of 42 agriculture workers ended their lives in Telangana.
Telangana also ranked second where farmers ended their lives due to poverty. Twenty Telangana farmers ended their lives due to poverty, next only to Maharashtra (27), but high compared to AP (13).
Another area where Telangana achieved a dubious distinction is that of suicide of large number of farmers/cultivators. Of the 160 suicides of farmers, a whooping 79 are reported from Telangana alone.
Suicides due to illness were also recorded by the Bureau and Telangana stood third with 160 cases.
Coming down heavily on the TRS government for the sorry state of affairs, TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the NCRB report exposed the failure of the TRS government in preventing suicides and also proved that it was responsible for the agrarian crisis in the state.
“For the second consecutive year, the NCRB report put Telangana in second position in the country in suicides by persons engaged in farming sector. This clearly shows that the state government tried to downplay farmers’ suicides,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
He said of the 1,358 farmers, as many as 632 or 46.5 pc committed suicide due to ‘bankruptcy or indebtedness’. “Congress has been warning of this situation for quiet some time. These suicides could have been prevented if the government fulfilled its promise of waiving crop loans in a single go. Consequently, every 6-8 hours, one farmer committed suicide in the last two years,” he said.
The TPCC chief said the reasons that drove farmers of Telangana to suicide expose the tall and hollow claims of the TRS government on development. While ‘bankruptcy or indebtedness’ drove 384 farmers to suicide, 395 others ended their lives due to failure due to natural calamities.