MEDAK: A 70-year-old farmer ended his life by jumping into a burning pyre which he made from wooden scraps of his own demolished house in Vemulaghat village in Medak district.
Malliah, one of the oustees, was forced to take this extreme step after he was denied a 2BHK house in the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) colony. The colony is being developed by the Telangana government for residents who will lose their homes to the Mallannasagar reservoir.
Following the incident, a heavy police force has been deployed at Vemulaghat to avoid any untoward incident.
The oustees of the Mallannasagar project were given two options-- either Rs 5.4 lakh per family and a plot of 250 square yards at the R&R colony or Rs 7.5 lakh along with a constructed 2BHK in the same colony.
As per sources, in 2019, Malliah chose the second option, in lieu of losing his house to the Mallannasagar reservoir project.
Malliah has had several hardships since last year. He lost his wife to cancer around nine months back. On learning this, the revenue department officials allegedly told Malliah that he will not receive the house if he were to stay alone there.
Two of his three married daughters also passed away along with their husbands, and one of the two couples died recently.
Upset and agitated over this, Malliah collected some wooden scraps from his demolished house on Thursday. Those who saw him thought that he is collecting the scraps to sell them at a price. Unfortunately, this wood became Mallaiah's funeral pyre.
Malliah was planning to move into the newly constructed 2BHK house along with his surviving daughter and son-in-law.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)