Loans, storm conspire against ryots

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">KESHAVAPATNAM (Karimnagar): Palle Narsimha Reddy, a marginal farmer from Chintalapalli village of this district, killed himself four days ago. Spiralling losses over the past few years drove him to death.<br /><br />Things were fine till 1999 and his small family lived a reasonably happy life. Then the problems began.A drought almost forced him out of circulation. Each year he borrowed money hoping a bumper crop would bring a turnaround in his fortunes. <br /><br />But this never happened till this year when he made up his mind to sow chilli and cotton on his five-acre plot. He had to borrow again to finance the new crop.<br /><br />Traditionally a paddy farmer, he wasn''t really used to new crops. Still he kept his spirits high and expected a healthy harvest to bail him out of the hard times. A devastating hailstorm played spoiler.<br /><br />Already sucked into a debt trap, he was hounded by his lenders. Helpless and humiliated, he drank pesticide and ended his miseries. Reddy''s family, narrating his heartrending story to this correspondent, said their bread-earner and many like him have been suffering for the past five years. <br /><br />Those with greater staying power are still fighting it out and many have become labourers in others'' farmlands. The pay is a pittance.<br /><br />Narsaraih of Dharmasagarpalli in Koheda Mandal, Komuraih of Akkannapalli in Gambheerraopet Mandal and Venkat Reddy of Reddypalli village in Veenavanka Mandal also went the Reddy way.<br /><br />The recent hailstorm proved a killer for a farmer from Devaruppala Manda too, who drank pesticide after his losses piled up. For all of them, last month''s storm acted as a trigger. This wouldn''t have happened, say most families, had the officials paid more attention to their plight. The <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">babumdom </span>denies this and insists they assessed the losses thoroughly.<br /><br />The recent government initiative, farmers say, has brought them some solace. But their grouse remains: Timely intervention would have saved many lives. "We sincerely need more attention. Our woes are serious and genuine," said Raji Reddy of Chithalapalli.<br /><br />But they tend to see the helpline plan with a caustic eye. "We don''t want these. These are rich men''s facilities and are typical of the old regime," one farmer said.</div> </div>