Karnataka farmer suicides: At last, ministers rush to right wrong

BENGALURU: As the wave of suicides by farmers showed no signs of ebbing — five more deaths were reported on Saturday — four senior ministers rushed to visit their families in an indication that the state government has woken up to address the problems of growers in distress and in debt.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will visit the kin of farmers who committed suicide in Mandya and Mysuru districts.

The visit of energy minister D K Shivakumar, rural development & panchayat raj minister H K Patil, horticulture minister Shamanur Shivashankarappa and IT/BT minister S R Patil came a day after Mr Siddaramaiah’s letter to all district in-charge ministers to call on the kin of deceased farmers and instill confidence among other growers in their respective districts to prevent more suicides.

Mr Shivakumar visited four villages in Ramanagara, Channapatna and Kanakapura taluks in Ramanagara districts. He, however, spoke to the media about the need for a free and fair probe to ascertain which drove farmers to end their lives.

Mr Shivashankarappa, who handed over an ex-gratia of '2 lakhs to Manjula, widow of G T Gundappa of Hadadi, a village in Davangere taluk, said “The district administration will respond to the woes of peasants. Stern action will be taken against private money lenders who harass farmers to repay loans borrowed from them.”