Battling crop failure for consecutive two years — maize last year and cotton this year —, 52-year-old Kavali Venkataiah slipped into debts of nearly ₹2 lakh.
The burden of another ₹2 lakh loan borrowed for his son’s marriage four months ago equally disturbed him. Apparently unable to find a means to come out of the financial mess he was in, the ryot ended his life by consuming pesticide at a secluded place on the fringes of this village, 60 km from the State capital, three days ago.
“He was visibly upset on seeing the low cotton yield. He used to sit by the bags stuffed with cotton, touch them and cry saying how he can pay back the debts when the crop yield was so low,” said his wife Bharathamma on Saturday. She realised that her husband was heartbroken over the crop failure but hadn’t anticipated that he would resort to such an extreme step.
Mountain of debt
Last year, he sowed maize. The crop failed as the rain was insufficient. “But he didn’t lose heart though it translated to ₹1 lakh worth of loss,” his son, Krishna, said. There was already a bank loan of ₹ 70,000 staring at the farmer. Hoping to compensate the loss, Venkataiah went for cotton this year.
He borrowed nearly ₹50,000 from Shabad Ramulu who supplies seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to farmers in the village. “My father hoped cotton crop would help him come out of the debts, if not become rich overnight. But inadequate rain turned out to be a deadly blow,” Krishna said.
Venkataiah borrowed nearly ₹2 lakh from his close relatives for his son's marriage held in August. He already got his three daughters married and they were living separately. He had no worries about the daughters but the earlier bank loan, money borrowed for his son's marriage and crop failure for two consecutive years had left him shattered, his wife said.
Until two years ago, Venkataiah had no debts and managed to cultivate his less than two acres of agricultural land without financial assistance from anyone. He dug a well of 30 feet deep on the land but it failed as there was complete rock formation beyond that depth.
While local officials and political leaders remain occupied with elections, Venkataiah’s family members are struggling to come out of the rude shock of his death.
There is always someone to listen at +914066202000 in case of any emotional breakdown at this Hyderabad-based suicide intervention centre, Roshni.
