“How can I take care of these children and what we will be their fate? How to take care of the debt left behind by my husband Kanakaiah?” asks Narmetta Lalitha, of Ellareddypet village in Toguta mandal of Siddipet district. She was holding her three-month old baby in her lap while her four-year girl was sitting next to her and staring at visitors, not understanding what happened to her father and what was in store for them tomorrow.
Kanakaiah (32) was a marginal farmer of Ellareddypet with 11 guntas land. He reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed near his farm on Friday. However, these details could not be confirmed independently as it is reported that a local RMP visited the spot and declared him dead.
Kanakaiah’s entire holding was to get submerged under the proposed canals of Mallannasagar and this reportedly put him under heavy psychological pressure. Added to that he was reportedly having two chits of ₹ 1 lakh each, which he had lifted to meet the expenditure of the delivery of his second child and for investing in the crop.
Heavy pressure
According to Raju, from the same village, Kanakaiah was worried ever since he learnt that his land would get submerged under Mallannasagar canal. “Kanakaiah was haunted by the prospect of losing his small farm and he was not sure how much compensation he would get for it. He was unable to think of how to repay the chit amount. All these added to his worries,” Mr. Raju told The Hindu .
“A farmer would be happy to give up a part of his land for a canal as it would bring him benefit of being able to raise two crops in the balance land. But in the case of Kanakaiah, he was losing his entire land and he could not buy similar land anywhere nearby. He was worried about his fate and how to take care of his two children an this pressure appears to have led to his suffering a cardiac arrest,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
