A demonstration demanding ex-gratia of ₹ 5 lakh as assured by the government to families of farmers who committed suicide witnessed an outpouring of pathetic tales near Indira Park here on Thursday.
Within a span of two years the world of Savara (Shabad) Padmamma turned upside down, literally. She is native of Madaram village in Parigi mandal of Vikarabad district. Her husband Bandaiah had two acres of land and he had cultivated cotton and maize. They had also bought two bulls by spending about ₹2 lakh. Lack of irrigation and failure of bore-well resulted in crop loss. Not only that, he could not even feed the bulls properly due to drought conditions and sold them for ₹40,000.
All these conditions forced him to take extreme step and on August 6, 2018, he committed suicide by hanging.
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This was the beginning of Padmamma’s problems. Her son Naresh (25), already married, was shocked with the suicide of father. Their debt has mounted to ₹6 lakh and he could not find any solution to the problem. He approached the local officials for ex gratia but of no use. He had a depression because of the pressure mounted by money lenders and committed suicide by consuming pesticide on November 13, 2020.
Now taking care of mentally unsound son Krishnaiah, 70- year old mother-in-law Ankamma has become the responsibility of Padmamma. She is taking care of the land and also works as labourer in neighbouring fields.
“I do not know what to do and how to lead the life. Future is worrying. How to take care of my mother-in-law and son is a big question and why the government has been not coming forward to help people like us?” asked Ms. Padmamma at the dharna chowk on Thursday.
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The story of 25- year old Chikkudu Manjula, native of Lakdaram village in Kondapaka mandal of Siddipet district was too pathetic. Her husband had committed suicide by consuming pesticide on December 18, 2016, and no government assistance was extended to the family. She has three daughters and at the time of incident, her younger daughter was three months old. “I moved around government offices several times but of no use. Where should I go now?” questioned Manjula, controlling tears.
These two women are among the scores of families of farmers, who had committed suicide, who came to participate in the ‘Praja Darbar’ (Public Hearing) organised the Rytu Swarjya Vedika at Indira Park on Wednesday. The Jury of Praja Drabar included Prof. Haragopal, Kavitha Kuruganti, V. Sandhya and G. Jhansi.
The Praja Darbar has demanded the government to pay ex-gratia to the families of farmers who had committed suicide as per GO 194 and give due recognition to tenant farmers. Later the farmers families held a rally at Indira Park.