BENGALURU: The Karnataka Legal Services Authority (KLSA) on Wednesday asked the state government to establish counselling centres for farmers at the gram panchayat level to prevent more suicides.
Speaking to the media, Justice N K Patil, executive chairman, KLSA, said the centres should have trained personnel comprising of a social worker, psychologist, agricultural scientist, doctor and elected representatives of the gram panchayat. The GPs should evolve a mechanism to identify indebted and suicide-prone farmers and help them overcome the crisis, he said.
This apart, an advisory council should be formed for the prevention of suicides among farmers at the district and state level, he said. It should encourage farmers to adopt allied activities like dairy and poultry too.
Justice Patil, who is also a High Court judge, suggested the state government punish those moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates. Most of the farmer suicides are due to harassment from moneylenders when compared to deaths due to loans obtained from banks, he said.
Lok Adalat on Aug 8
Justice Patil said the Lok Adalat to be held on Saturday will facilitate a platform to address recovery cases of farmers. The cases pending under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act will also be heard, he said.
Justice Patil said the government should train and educate farmers in the use of pesticides and fertilisers.
On Saturday, the cases will be heard by two benches at the High Court, 17 benches at the City Civil Court premises, 16 benches at the Magistrate Court and two at the Mayo Hall Court.