: In an incident that exposes how gullible farmers could be used to stage “suicide attempts” to draw media attention, a video showing an electronic media crew and a few farmers’ leaders allegedly making a farmer in distress “forge a suicide attempt” in the Ballari district has gone viral on the internet.
The video shows an incident in the Korlagundi village of the Ballari taluk on Wednesday, where 60-year-old Kurubara Kumarappawas asked by an electronic media crew and local leaders to act as if he was attempting to consume a pesticide.
With the first take of the event not coming out right for the camera, the farmer was even made to enact the scene again. Then, the local farmers’ leaders jumped in to prevent him from consuming the pesticide. There were a couple of takes of the act to get the ‘perfect’ clipping.
On getting information that a farmer in Korlagundi village was destroying his chilli crop on about six acres of land, which was withering for want of water, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene district president Darur Purushottham Goudgot the electronic media crew to the spot to cover the event.
Sharply criticisedEnquiries revealed that the farmer, along with his family members, was removing the wilted chilli crop in a bid to prepare the land for sowing alternative rabi crop. However, he was persuaded by the mob to enact the attempt-to-suicide drama.
While the issue is being discussed widely, no complaint has been filed so far.
The incident has attracted sharp criticism in the State which has witnessed several cases of farmers’ suicides in the last two years.
Taking serious exception to such a “stage managed show”, the Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar described it as an act of “crime”.
He said, “Media and farmers’ leaders should guide the society to walk in a proper path, but should not misguide.” He expressed concern that such incidents would instigate other farmers in distress to take the extreme step.
