ADILABAD: Affected by both scanty rainfall and heavy rains in the last couple of years, as well as denied remunerative prices for their produce such as cotton and soyabean, the farmers in the district have been incurring heavy losses, and many of them who broke down under the weight of their debts have committed suicide, and many others still continue to do so. According to official revenue records, quoting a three-member committee report, between June 2, 2014 and April 2015, 65 farmers have committed suicide in the district. The government has rejected 29 cases and released ex-gratia of `13.50 lakh to nine families of the deceased farmers and action on 27 cases is still pending. In this backdrop, All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice president Rahul Gandhi will be taking up ‘Bharosa Yatra’ in Laxmanchanda and Mamada mandals. Incidentally, as per the government’s official records so far, not even a single farmer committed suicide due to mounting debts in these mandals. According to Rythu Sangham leaders, in 2004 the erstwhile United Andhra Pradesh government released GO No 421 sanctioning a relief of `1 lakh to the family of the farmer who committed suicide due to debts.
They said the family had to submit 14 types of certificates in order to become eligible for the relief. In Laxmanchanda mandal, three farmer suicides were recorded but two cases were rejected for various reasons and the one suicide case is awaiting approval from the threemember committee. The deceased are - Bondla Linganna alias Chinna Linganna, native of Laxmanchanda mandal who committed suicide on November 28, 2014, Sudi Laxmana, native of Laxmanchanda who committed suicide on November 16, 2014, and Satham Gangadhar, native of Rachapur village, who killed himself on July 19, 2014. In Mamada mandal a single farmer committed suicide, but it was not recorded. In Adilabad division, 19 farmers have committed suicide so far. According to the official report, while relief was sanctioned to one case, another 10 have passed the approval stage and the government has rejected the rest of the eight cases. In Nirmal division, 30 farmers have committed suicide and seven families have been provided relief.