Brave the odds, don’t give up: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Mandya\Mysuru: Better late than never, the farmers must have muttered as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah came knocking at their doors on Sunday in a belated attempt to find the reasons why so many of them had killed themselves in the past two months.

No stranger to the travails of rural folk, Mr Siddaramaiah consoled them trying to find out if it was the preying money-lender or the  unmerciful sugar factory which had pushed young men to the brink and left them with no option but take their lives. He handed out cheques, assured grief-stricken widows jobs and made a forceful plea to the farmers milling around him not to take the extreme step.

The CM’s visit was not without its share of drama with housing minister Ambarish making a last minute withdrawal during the visit to a farmer’s house in Mandya. He kept his distance when the CM addressed a press conference sending out signals that he was not satisfied with the peace formula hammered out by Congress leaders on the appointments to Mandya District Apex Bank.

Could Mr Siddaramaiah have prevented many of the suicides if he had arrived a bit earlier in the rural heartland to lend a consoling arm? Will his visit and his reassuring words help stop the spree of suicides Karnataka’s villages have been witnessing?

Sources said the sugar glut and the drop in prices will not disappear overnight and unless a concerted effort is made to help farmers escape the loan trap they have fallen into, their woes will only multiply.

Coming under severe criticism for not visiting the kin of deceased farmers, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday tried to make amends and met the families of two farmers who recently committed suicide in Mandya district.

His visit was marred by an unsavoury incident with Housing Minister M.H. Ambareesh not accompanying the CM during his visit to the House of a farmer in Chinenahalli village in Srirangapatna taluk. Mr Ambareesh is unhappy over his loyalists being ignored for the post of president of Mandya District Apex Bank

As Mr Siddaramaiah entered the house of the farmer, Mr Ambareesh waited at the door for a few minutes and later left the place in his car. He did not sit with Mr Siddaramaiah when the CM addressed a press conference at Honnenayakanahali reflecting the strained relationship between the two leaders.

As the convoy passed through Mallegowdanahalli village, a group of villagers was heard shouting slogans against Mr Ambareesh. They were unhappy over the state government’s negligent attitude towards reviving Mysugar Sugar Factory in Mandya. Even Sugar Minister H.S. Mahadevaprasad was not spared. The minister got into the car after convincing farmers that the government had taken steps to run the factory from October.

At Honnenayakanahalli village, wife of the deceased farmer, Shivalinge Gowda, urged the CM to mitigate the problems of cane growers. Mr Siddaramaiah promised to provide a job for her in the deputy commissioner’s office. In Chinehalli, wife of the deceased farmer, complained to the CM that the land records had been taken away by private money lenders.

During his visit to his home district, Mysuru, the CM consoled farmers asking, “What are your problems? We are here for you, we will help you.” Initially the farmers who are still in shock after the suicides, were reluctant to share their grievances.

At the house of Mahadevnayka a native of Hura in Nanjangud taluk who committed suicide after battling for his life for two days in KR Hospital, his distraught widow, Mahadevamma fell at the CM’s feet. Mr Siddaramaiah told her, “Don’t worry. We will help you.” He attempted to understand the problems of farmers asking them if they had taken loans from banks or private money-lenders. The roads in the village were cleaned and Mahadevnayka’s house got a fresh coat of paint before the CM’s arrival!

Speaking to mediapersons at Siddegowdanahundi, Mr Siddaramaiah appealed to farmers not to commit suicide. “We will visit the households of farmers who have committed suicide in North Karnataka and elsewhere after the session. We have already decided to give Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the bereaved families. We have constituted district-level committees led by the deputy commissioner,” he said.