A 70-year-old farmer committed suicide on Friday within a week of a cultivator in a nearby village ending his life, in Kodumudi block in the district, due to financial distress caused by failed crop.
The turmeric crop Muthusamy Gounder of Vengai Mettur near Thamaraipalayam raised on a 3-acre farm taken on lease had dried up due to lack of water in the Kalingarayan Canal. He had taken a huge bank loan by pledging his 40-acre holding.
The dejected farmer had died in his farm consuming pesticide. The body was not removed from the location till late in the evening even as Erode RDO Narmada Devi held talks with family members and relatives. The villagers demanded a commitment from the district administration for release of water into Kalingarayan Canal for special wetting.
Farmers in the Kalingarayan Canal ayacut have invested heavily for raising turmeric crop hoping for sufficient rainfall. But, the failure of monsoons forced the Public Works Department to discontinue water release from Bhavani Sagar reservoir after 23 days.
A few days back, Ramalingam of Karattupalayam, also a turmeric cultivator, committed suicide in the same way due to crop failure by consuming pesticide.
Officials said a proposal has been sent to the Government seeking nod for release of water for special wetting in Kalingarayan Canal.
