T.N. Prakash Kammaradi, chairman, Karnataka Agriculture Prices Commission, visited families of farmers who were driven to suicide, in some villages near Bidar on Thursday.
He met members of the Lakha family of Islampur village whose breadwinner Kashinath Siddappa committed suicide a year ago. He had taken loans of around Rs 1.7 lakh. Only around Rs. 20,000 was from the primary agriculture cooperative society in the village. The rest were from money lenders and agriculture commission agents. He could not pay them back on time. His wife, Kamalamma, complained that the government was yet to pay her compensation. She has not got any other benefits from the government like loan waiver or widow pension, she said. Dr. Kammaradi assured that he would tell the concerned officials about her situation. He told presspersons that there was a pattern in farmer suicides. “Most farmers seem to commit suicide due to fall in prices, debt or calamities like drought or floods. The short-term solutions are supporting them financially, counselling them and ensuring that the welfare measures of the State reach them,” he said.
The long-term measures would ensure remunerative prices , he said.
