Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV), an umbrella organisation of NGOs and intellectuals working on agriculture issues, particularly farmers’ suicides, called upon the children of the farmers to discuss each and every aspect of farming with their parents to know their mental status.
Stating that most of the farmers, who had committed suicide, were not sharing their problems even with closest family members, an activist of RSV, B. Kondal Reddy asked the wards of farmers to spend more time with their parents to know whether they were in distress.
He was addressing a seminar at the Government Women’s College on “Crisis in Agriculture- Farmers Suicides” organised by the Human Rights Forum (HRF) marking the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day.
The RSV activist said a word of support from family members and other close persons would help the person, having suicidal tendency, to withdraw from their attempt even in the last minute.
HRF, Nalgonda district secretary, Chinthamalla Guravaiah, said that drastic changes introduced in farming like increased use of pesticides, introduction of BT seeds, mechanisation were leading to suicides of farmer. He observed the successive government’s initiatives to contain the suicides were proved ineffective as they had failed to restrict the number of suicides every year. He also appealed to the government to increase the compensation to the kin of those who committed suicide.
The seminar was also conducted in the government junior college and PG College.
HRF activist, Nandyala Harindar, said that they have chosen the government institutions to conduct the programme because a majority of farmers’ children were studying in the government educational institutions.
