Four farmers die after crop failure in southern districts of Chennai

Madurai/Dindigul: Two farmers committed suicide and two died in the last three days due to heart attack, allegedly caused by to crop failure in Madurai and neighbouring districts.

The 47-year-old farmer, Ramu, from Pathinettankudi village near Melur died due to heart attack after he found the paddy crop cultivated in his land had dried up due to shortage of water.

Ramu had cultivated banana in two acres and paddy in one acre in the village. He had borrowed money from cooperative banks and money lenders to deepen the farm well. However, due to the failure of the Northeast Monsoon, authorities did not release water in the Periyar main canal, the farmers said.

Ramu expressed his worries to his wife Panju because he found it difficult to source water to save the crops. On Friday, when the couple went to the farmland, he was shocked to find the withered paddy crops damaged completely. Ramu fainted on the spot, farmers said. Though the family members rushed his to the hospital in Melur, the doctor declared him as brought dead.

In Dindigul, 62 year-old Ramakrishnan consumed pesticides in his farm late evening. Though his family members rushed him to the Government hospital in Theni the doctors declared him brought dead. Ramakrishnan had cultivated horticulture crops in four acres of land. As the Northeast monsoon has failed this year, Ramakrishnan found it difficult to cultivate the crops said R Sachidanandam, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, Dindigul.
Sachidanandam, along with a few other farmers' association members, also visited his house on Friday and expressed their condolence. "To save the crops, Ramakrishnan dug a bore well in his farm by borrowing money, but it didn't provide him sufficient water," he said.

Unable to withstand the crop lose, Ramakrishnan took this extreme steps, said the farmers. Similarly Pandi (63) from Chellampatti village near Usilampatti town in Madurai district also committed suicide consuming pesticides in his farm land on Thursday. He cultivated millets in 1.20 acres, but they had dried up due to shortage of water. His family members took him to the Government Hospital in Usilampatti but he died in the night. The family members filed a complaint with the police claiming he committed suicide due to crop failure.

The 52-year-old farmer, Kannan from Anumanthanpatti in Theni district, died due to heart attack after he found his cashewnut crop destroyed due to water scarcity three days ago.

His wife Indurani submitted a petition to Uthamapalayam Tahsildar, Kumar, demanding compensation. The officials said they were conducting an inquiry to identify the real cause of their deaths.