One more debt-ridden farmer, Parasappa Yallappa Sampagavi (35), committed suicide by consuming pesticide at his native Ganeshwadi in Gokak, which is also the home taluk of Small Scale Industries and district in-charge Minister Satish L. Jarkiholi, on Sunday evening.
After conducting post-mortem, the policed handed over the body to the bereaved family and the last rites were performed early on Monday. Parasappa is survived by his wife, four sons and a daughter, besides parents. The reason for the suicide is said to be his inability to manage mounting interest on loans and delay in payment of sugarcane bills.
The police said Parasappa had an outstanding loan of Rs. 1.5 lakh. But his cousin, Maruti Allappa Sampagavi, told The Hindu that Parasappa had an outstanding loan of Rs. 2.5 lakh taken from Syndicate and Arihant banks in Ghataprabha, since over five years. This included Rs. 60,000 taken from the local Mahila Sangh to buy a buffalo, which died four months ago. Earlier, he and his brother, Siddaram, had spent nearly Rs. 40,000 to dig a borewell, which did not yield water, he said.
Mr. Maruti said Parasappa, who was also suffering from a leg ailment, was under tremendous stress. He often wept before his wife over his state of helplessness. Just a day before, he had told his wife that the banks had served notices.
As he was not a member of any mill, he supplied sugarcane through his landlord to Ghataprabha Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane Ltd. On Sunday morning, he met the landlord to know if the factory — to which he had supplied 12 tonnes of cane worth at least Rs. 20,000 about five months ago — had paid the bill. He was hoping to get money to pay the interest. He, however, returned home in utter disappointment as the landlord replied in the negative. He then walked out of his house around 5 p.m. and returned after consuming pesticide, after which he sat in a corner of the house and collapsed after some time. He died on the way to the hospital in Gokak, the police said.
