HYDERABAD: Despite the launch of Agriculture Investment Support Scheme (Rythu Bandhu) and crop insurance scheme (Rythu Bima) in 2018 aimed at farmers’ welfare, the State government has failed to reduce the number of farmer suicides in the State in that year as compared to the previous two years.
According to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India-2018 (ADSI) report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Thursday, suicides by persons engaged in the farming sector in Telangana was the third highest in the country at 908, after Maharashtra(3,594) and Karnataka (2,405). Andhra Pradesh is the fourth highest with 664 suicides.
The year 2018 saw more number of suicides by farmers in Telangana, than in 2017 (851) and 2016 (645). A majority of these 908 farmers who committed suicide, 720 are those who cultivate their own land, the category of farmers that the Rythu Bandhu scheme is aimed at by providing Rs 5,000 per acre twice a year. Apart from them, 180 landless farmers and eight agricultural labourers also committed suicide in 2018.
According to the ADSI-2018 report in 2018, 10,338 farmers committed suicide in the country, of which 5,077 are farmers who cultivate their own land, 675 are farmers who cultivate leased land and 4,586 are agricultural labourers.
65 per cent of missing children in Telangana are girls
In 2018, a total of 1,869 girls and 1,221 boys went missing in the State, taking the total number of missing children by 2018 to 4,410, including those from the previous years. Of these, 65 per cent of children who went missing in 2018 were girls. About 71.5 per cent of the missing children are traced, which is higher than the national average of 61.5 per cent, but girls constitute over 62.5 per cent of the missing children who are not traced in Telangana.
Of the total missing children of 4,410, 3,152 were traced while 1,258 children remained untraced by the end of 2018. Among the untraced children, 62.5 per cent (778) are girls. Meanwhile, a total of 14,335 persons, including 5,293 men, 9,041 women and a transperson, went missing in 2018, taking the total to 20,586 missing persons in the State, including those from the previous years. Of these, 70.9 per cent of them were traced by 2018.
Unsafe society
Of the total missing children of 4,410 in the State, 3,152 were traced, while 1,258 children remained untraced by the end of 2018
Cybercrime: 1,205 cases, but zero conviction rate
About 1,205 cybercrime cases were registered in Telangana in 2018, almost the same as in the previous year (1,209). The Hyderabad metropolitan recorded a slight increase in cybercrime cases (428) in 2018 when compared to 328 cases in 2017. It stands fourth among 19 metropolitan cities in terms of cybercrimes after Bengaluru (5,253), Mumbai (1,482) and Lucknow (962).
The total cases include 732 cyber frauds, 77 sexual exploitation, 14 cases with political motives, 51 extortion cases and others. The total cybercrimes registered against women were 336, while two cases of cybercrimes were against children, 24 for fake profiles, 140 online banking frauds and 17 for cyber bullying.
In all these cases, 699 persons were arrested, while 601 were charge-sheeted. A total of 53 persons are acquitted, while there is zero conviction. About 56.6 per cent of the cybercrime cases are pending with police, and due to insufficient evidence, 610 cases have been disposed of by the police.