Lavish weddings cause of farmer suicides, says Telangana

Hyderabad: The Telangana State government informed the Hyderabad High Court that expenses incurred for lavish marriages and preference to get children educated in private schools were the main reasons for farmers committing suicide.

The government filed a counter-affidavit in a petition by the Vyavasaya Jana Chaitanya Samiti, seeking to direct the government to take preventive measures to stop the suicides of financially distressed farmers.

The government, while listing the several reasons, including private lending, crop failure for two consecutive years, indiscriminate digging of borewells, family disputes, prolonged illness, burden of private loans for visiting Gulf countries for employment, stated that expenses towards social functions like lavish marriages and children’s education in private schools were also the reasons for suicides.

The government stated that the claim of the petitioner that 1,347 farmers had committed suicide in the state during the last one year was false. It said that the number of farmers’ suicides reported in the state from June 2, 2014 to October 10, 2015 was 782, out of which 342 were found genuine.

When asked how the state came to this conclusion special counsel of the government S. Sharath Kumar said that the government had constituted a three-member committee in the district level with the Revenue Divisional Officer\sub-collector as the chairmen, deputy superintendent of police, and assistant director of agriculture as members, for verification and certification of the suicides.

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