Hyderabad: Telangana has become the second among states in the country, where the largest number of farmers’ suicides were reported. As many as 898 farmers took their lives due to several reasons in 2014, a new National Crime Records Bureau data reveals.
Warangal and Medak districts saw the maximum number of deaths. Inadequate rainfall, dry borewells, decrease in groundwater levels and poor irrigation facilities leading to crop failure have pushed them to suicide. Since a majority of them are dependent on borewells, frequent power cuts have also negatively affected the farmers.
The NCRB data says that bankruptcy or indebtedness, failure of crop and family problems are the major causes. Illness and drug abuse or alcoholic addiction are also other reasons. 23.2 per cent of suicides in Telangana last year were due to bankruptcy or indebtedness.
Human rights activists say most victims were harassed by illegal moneylenders before they ended their lives. A majority of farmers in Warangal and Medak are tenants, who have to pay very high rates to take the lands on lease. When their lands yield nothing, they are left with huge debts.
According to Warangal officials last year farmlands dried up as groundwater levels went down. The rainfall in the season was also little and irrigation was affected badly.
