Farmer suicide in Srikakulam sparks outcry over govt inaction and GO-43 delay
SRIKAKULAM: The
(HRF), Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV), and BC Welfare Association (BCWA) call on the Andhra Pradesh govt to implement GO No-43 immediately and ensure that the family of
(58), a farmer from Peddhakhojiria village in Kanchili mandal in the Uddhanam region of Srikakulam district, is financially compensated.
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Murthy died by suicide on April 9 this year following severe distress caused by increasing debts incurred because of successive crop failures. The govt must, without further delay, implement GO-43, which provides for a financial (Rs seven lakh) and rehabilitation package to the families of farmers who have taken their own lives.
A six-member team (VS Krishna, K Anuradha, K Venkata Rao, KV Jagannadha Rao, G Balu, and B Dhilli Rao) from HRF, RSV, and BCWA visited Peddhakhojiria in Kanchili mandal on May 16 (Friday) and spoke with Neelaveni, the wife of the deceased farmer, and their son Praveen.
The team also interacted with local farmers and residents of Makarampuram village about the ongoing agrarian crisis that continues to unfold in the Uddhanam region.
Narasimha Murthy cultivated cashew and coconut on one acre of his own land and leased an additional eight acres for which he paid the lease amount in advance. Denied access to adequate institutional credit, he was forced to borrow from private sources at high interest rates to cover farm-related expenses.
With several years of scanty rainfall coupled with his coconut crop being ravaged by pests, he was pushed into deep debt. Expectedly, he was under regular and persistent pressure from money-lenders demanding repayment.
Driven to utter despair as he was unable to provide for his family and escape an ever-spiralling cycle of indebtedness, he committed suicide by ingesting pesticide on April 9.
The administrative response to this tragedy has been appalling.
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Though over five weeks have gone by since Murthy died, the three-member divisional verification committee headed by the RDO has not even bothered to visit Peddhakhojiria and conduct an inquiry. GO-43 mandates that the RDO-led committee visit the village, elicit relevant details, and forward a proposal to the Collector within a week of the suicide.
Even the three-member MRO-headed committee has not gone to the village and spoken to the family members; only the deputy tahsildar visited.
In effect, the family has received no assistance, financial or otherwise, from the govt.
This manner of negligence defeats the very purpose of GO-43. That this neglect is taking place in the home district of the State's agriculture minister is a matter of grave concern and raises questions about the govt's commitment to its own policies.
Coconut plantations across the Uddhanam mandals have been blighted by an uncontrolled spread of the whitefly (Rugose Spiralling Whitefly, RSW).
There has been very little or no governmental intervention to address this pest infestation. Farmers in the area rely heavily on this crop, and losses here have pushed them into acute deprivation.
Murthy's death is not an isolated incident; it is part of a disturbing pattern of farm distress in the region. Over the past year, there have been five farm suicides in the North Andhra districts, including that of Narasimha Murthy.
Not a single family has been rendered assistance under GO-43.
Unlike Rayalaseema and most other parts of the State where suicides occur with tragic regularity, historically North Andhra has seen fewer such deaths. However, a deeper agrarian crisis seems to be now enveloping the area.
We demand that the three-member divisional level committee abandon its apathy and visit Peddhakhojiria at the earliest, conduct a proper inquiry, and ensure that justice is done to Narasimha Murthy's family as laid out in GO-43. Without further delay, the family must receive the compensation and rehabilitation support they are entitled to.
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