How long does it take for a poor woman to come to grips with her drastically changed reality owing to the sudden and unexpected death of her husband as in the case of a farmer committing suicide? In some cases, it may even be a lifetime.
Factors which have influenced farmers to take the extreme step notwithstanding, life of thousands of those whom they have left behind is not the same. Awarding ex gratia of Rs. 1 lakh and a debt settlement amount of Rs. 50,000 as envisaged in GO 421 issued on June 1, 2004, at best can only be a half measure towards providing succour to them.
Take the case of Godmalle Juglabai, a poor Andh tribal woman of Anji village in Indervelli mandal. Her world had come crashing down on her on April 22 earlier this year when her husband Bapu Rao, a farmer took the extreme step.
No sooner the last of the rites connected with the farmer's death were completed, Juglabai was thrown out of her home by her brothers-in-law. She now lives in the house of her mother Gawale Radhabai with her only daughter of four years.
She was also 'unlucky' in so far as getting some succour from the government. As the inquiry did not find it to be a 'genuine' farmer suicide, she became ineligible even for the solatium which the Congress and TDP are giving to families of farmers, who had committed suicide.
For Jayashree Kale of Buddhanagar in the same mandal, whose farmer husband Atmaram had committed suicide on August 12, life has become a big struggle. She will be all alone while looking after her five daughters and the struggle is most likely to be long drawn as the youngest of her children is just one year old.
“I am still unable to understand why God has chosen me for this test,” observes Jayshree as she comes close to tears. Her gaze is all too distant and is said to have become her characteristic since the fateful day when her world turned upside down.
There are hundreds of Juglabais and Jayashrees in Adilabad district for whom the future holds no hope. Some more of a healing touch nevertheless, can be provided if the government takes measures to bring the families out of distress as enlisted in GO 421, according to observers.
