Marginal farmer gives up land for Mallannasagar project, ends life

Dispossessed by the proposed Mallannasagar project, owner of half an acre land loses confidence and is pushed to take the extreme step

Members of Women Farmers Rights Forum consoling the family members of Chatlapally Ramulu at Tirumalagiri in Siddipet district on Saturday.

After surrendering his half an acre of land to Government for the Mallannasagar Project, marginal farmer Chatlapally Ramulu lost the only security he had and with that the confidence to earn enough to clear his debts.

Driven by insecurity, the marginal farmer, of Tirumulagiri under Etigaddakishtapur village in Toguta mandal, consumed pesticide on January 20 and breathed his last in a hospital on the Republic Day.

Source of livelihood

Ramulu had less than half-an-acre land with a borewell and used to go work as a labourer to meet his family expenses. One fine day a few months ago he became landless after surrendering his land to the Government under G.O. 123 for the proposed construction of Mallannasagar Reservoir, part of the larger Kaleswaram project. He received ₹2.36 lakh for the land, but lost the confidence along with land.

Two years ago Ramulu had performed marriage of his daughter and later his son incurring huge expenditure.

The poor farmer used the compensation from the Government to clear his dues and was still left with a debt of ₹2 lakh. He neither had land nor money to pay the debt.

Insecure future

The outstanding debt was weighing heavily on Ramulu. “‘I will not stay long. I will die’, my father used to repeat regularly for the past few months. He did what he told us. Now I have inherited the debt. The entire village will be submerged under Mallannasagar and we had already lost our farm to the government. Where can we go?” asked Venkatesh, Ramulu’s son.

“Unable to think of how to repay the remaining debt and live a life, my uncle committed suicide by consuming pesticide. He lost the confidence that a farmer has when he owns even a piece of cultivable land. The land gives a sense of security. Once dispossessed, a farmer is nothing but a labourer in the farms of others or labour at roadside adda ,” commented Chatlapally Krishna, Ramulu’s relative.

Common worry

“Ramulu had land adjoining our fields. He was so poor that losing land he lost his confidence and took the extreme step. Many of the small farmers are facing similar stress after having been forced to sell their lands to the Government,” said Raju, another farmer from the same village, who also sold his land to the government under the GO 123.

“Ramulu’s death has made us afraid. It’s pathetic. Every family of small farmers is facing similar stress. We do not know what is in store for us,” commented M. Sujatha, member of Caring Citizens Collective and Women Farmers’ Rights Forum, who visited the house of Ramulu.