Thiruvananthapuram: The suicide of a paddy farmer in the Alappuzha district of Kerala has brought the state government’s paddy procurement policy under the scanner.
The farmer, K G Prasad of Ambedkar Colony in Thakazhi took the extreme step due to financial issues. On Friday night the 55-year-old farmer consumed poison and was rushed to a private hospital in Thiruvalla. With his condition deteriorating further, the doctors declared him dead in the wee hours of Saturday.
The death by suicide triggered a major controversy with the opposition parties holding the government’s 'anti’ farmers policies responsible for suicide.
Prasad was a BJP worker and the former district president of BJP-affiliated Kisan Sangh.
About 100 BJP activists staged a protest with the farmer's mortal remains on the Ambalapuzha Thiruvalla state highway. The protest led to a traffic jam in the area.
Suicide note
In a suicide note reportedly left behind by the farmer, Prasad described the financial crisis faced by him. In 2011 he availed a loan from a bank but owing to poor financial condition he could not repay in time and defaulted. However, later he claimed to have paid 20,000 and closed the loan in 2020 under the bank’s one-time settlement scheme.
His problems began thereafter when banks declined to grant him a loan due to a low CIBIL score. During this period, he struggled to keep up the paddy cultivation on a four-acre land in Thakazhi.
He alleged that the state government failed to make payment to the bank for the PRS loan. (PRS loans are granted to farmers based on Paddy Receipt Sheet (PRS) in place of procurement of paddy.
Due to a financial crisis, he could not start cultivation this time around. "State government must pay the PRS loans promptly along with interest. They have failed and the banks too have refused to provide me loans for cultivation. I have no means to live now," Prasad wrote in the suicide note.
Another telephonic conversation between the farmer with a friend has also surfaced. He is telling the friend that though he quit drinking 20 years ago, he was forced to consume alcohol again due to his pathetic situation.
Meanwhile, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil refuted the charges against the government. "A farmer who takes the Paddy Receipt Sheet (PRS) loan does not incur any liability in connection with the process. PRS loans are extended by banks after procurement of paddy and the state government repays it later.
The minister said the PRS loan was fully paid by the government.
Opposition leader V D Satheeshan slammed the state government for its failure to address the crisis faced by farmers in the state.
Governor expresses concern over farmers' plight
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has also reacted to the issue. “He is not the only one on the edge. He gave up his life. But the farmers are generally very constrained. They are in real difficulty. We will look into this whole thing and what really can be done to make the situation somewhat easy for the farmer. I will take up the matter with the government both here in the state and at the Centre. I am told these payments are to be made under a tripartite agreement and the funds which were to be released by the centre have already been released. So where is the problem? Even last year there was a similar case. Why has the situation not improved?
