Landslide: Kodagu family writes to PM for mercy killing

Mysuru: A Kodagu-based family of three, which suffered losses in their eight and a half acres of land due to the disastrous floods and landslides last year, and missed the ex-gratia due to alleged apathy of the jurisdictional revenue officers, has written to the Prime Minister seeking permission for mercy killing.

Kushalappa and his sons, K.K. Duryodan and K.K. Joyappa of Nidavattu village in Madikeri taluk of Kodagu, in their letter to the PM said: “70 percent of our village suffered losses due to floods and landslides in August, 2018. Our village is one among 13 villages which were identified by the GSI as vulnerable. All of a sudden, they have asked us to vacate our village for three months. If we leave our house, there will be no one to take care of our domestic animals and farm, since we are poor farmers.

“When our house was damaged during the floods last year, we had requested the district administration to give us a site near our village so that we would be able to easily manage our farm, but they have not considered our request and are planning to send us to a relief centre.

“Two acres of  our farm were filled with silt and another six and a half  acres was spoilt due to floods. The revenue officers who visited our village did not even get down from the jeep or visit the spot and just gave Rs 2,700 for silt removal. We met the officers in this regard and warned that we would end our lives but nothing has happened and so we have taken this extreme decision,” they said in the letter, copies of which were marked to the district minister and chief minister.