Amaravati: Five debt-ridden farmers from Andhra Pradesh died by suicide on Friday. Out of five farmers, four are from the Rayalaseema region of the state, while one is from Palnadu district. Among five farmers one's wife also attempted suicide, and is undergoing treatment and her condition is stated to be critical. According to the information, Pullalacheruvu Kondareddy (55) of Mallegudipadu village in the YSR district used to cultivate paddy and cotton on his five acres. But he was incurring losses for the past five years and as a result, he mortgaged his land and borrowed Rs 3.5 lakhs and later again borrowed Rs 7 lakhs from his acquaintances. He was upset about not being able to clear his debts. On Friday, he consumed pesticide, and the family took to him to the SWIMS Hospital in Tirupati, but he died on Friday night while undergoing treatment there.
In another incident, farmer Narasimhappa (46) in Gudibanda mandal of Srisatyasai district took two acres of land on lease and cultivated cotton, but incurred losses and incurred debts of up to Rs 5 lakhs. On Friday, when no one was at home, he consumed insecticide and died in Anantapur Government Hospital on Saturday while undergoing treatment. He is survived by wife, son and daughter. While the daughter got married, his son studying Inter, but now he may not be able to complete his studies due to financial constraints.
Also read: 5 people die by suicide in two separate incidents in Telangana
In another incident, farmer Srihari and his wife of Nadimigeri in the Nandyala district attempted suicide. Srihari cultivated different crops on his four acres, but did not able to make any proper yield for the last three years. Following this, he is forced to borrow up to Rs.7.50 lakhs. He set up a nursery near Nallaballi village last year in an attempt to clear his previous debts. For this, he took another loan of Rs.7.50 lakhs from the bank. But this attempt also failed and he went into more debt. Distraught by this, he, along with his wife Umamaheswari, died by suicide by drinking pesticide in the nursery on Saturday. They were rushed to the Kurnool Hospital where Srihari died while undergoing treatment while Umamaheswari is in critical condition.
Another tragedy happened in the same district where Manda Venkateswara Reddy (59) of Guvvalakuntla village of Kothapalli mandal used to cultivate a total of four acres out of which a few acres he took on lease. Due to consecutive losses for two years, he had to incur debts of up to Rs 5 lakhs. The family shifted to Kurnool to settle the debts. Venkateswara Reddy tried to get employment but didn't get and offended by this he returned to his hometown with his family. On Friday night, near the house, he drank an insecticide mixed with alcohol and died.
