Anantapur farmer dies of heart attack in queue for seeds

A farmer died of cardiac arrest in the queue for contingency seed distribution at the agriculture market yard in Uravakonda mandal of the district on Thursday.
Farmers waiting in a queue to collect seeds at the agriculture market yard in Uravakonda mandal of Anantapur district on Thursday (Photo |EPS)
Farmers waiting in a queue to collect seeds at the agriculture market yard in Uravakonda mandal of Anantapur district on Thursday (Photo |EPS)

ANANTAPUR: A farmer died of cardiac arrest in the queue for contingency seed distribution at the agriculture market yard in Uravakonda Mandal of the district on Thursday. With the main crop groundnut failing due to unfavourable climatic conditions in the district, the agriculture department is distributing seeds of contingency crops to the farmers. The agriculture department has released the schedule for distribution of contingency crop seeds such as jowar, horse gram and others at the market yards.

On Thursday, a good number of farmers arrived at the market yard in Uravakonda as there were only two days left for seed distribution. According to farmers, the officials announced that jowar seed will be distributed to the farmers as there is less quantity of horse gram seed. This led to a minor jostling among the farmers, who were waiting in a queue for horse gram seed, and in the melee, Dasari Siddappa (65) collapsed. 

He was shifted to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, Uravakonda Sub-Inspector K Dharani said. Siddappa, a farmer from Raketla village, has 2.92 acres of land and he had not taken up cultivation in the Kharif due to adverse climatic conditions. With a hope of getting some yield by cultivating contingency crop, he planned to raise horse gram, police said. 

When contacted, Joint Director of Agriculture Sk Habeed claimed that there was adequate stock of seeds in the agriculture market yard. “In the Uravakonda market yard, even as there was an allotment of 525 quintals of horse gram seed, we made 764.8 quintals of seed available in view of huge demand from farmers. Till date, only 593 quintals of seeds of various contingency crops have been distributed to farmers,’’ he said. 

The Joint Director of Agriculture went on to add that 503 quintals of horse gram seeds were distributed to 1,995 farmers and there is adequate stock of horse gram seeds in the market yard. Habeed said it was unfortunate that a farmer had died during the distribution of seeds. “We will assist the family of the farmer in all possible ways. The District Collector will also visit Raketla village and console the family of the farmer on Friday,’’ he said.

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