Harassed Kanpur farmers threaten suicide

KANPUR: Hundreds of farmers in Kanpur and adjoining areas seem to have been caught between the devil and the deep sea. While on the one side are burgeoning loans and crop failures, on the other are teshil revenue collection teams and cops hounding them off from their homes.
Aggrieved, they have now threatened to commit suicide.
The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that about five dozen farmers, who failed to repay loans taken for seed, fertiliser and other purposes, are already lodged in different tehsil jails, including those at Rasoolabad, Hjatampur, Billhuar, Kanpur and Bhognipur.Hundreds of others have gone underground and are spending sleepless nights away from their homes to avoid arrests. The odds have now forced them to consider suicide if the government does not provide them with any immediate relief.
A farmer from Khatharua village, Raju, who is locked in tehsil jail of Kanpur City, told the Times News Network that he had taken a loan of Rs 4,500 to buy a buffalo. However, as he failed to repay the same owing to financial constraints, he was put behind bars. Raju laments: “I incurred huge loss due to the drought last year... how can I repay my loan when we don’t even get the production cost of our crops.�
Another farmer from Bidhnoo, Wahana, had taken a bank loan of Rs 25,000 about five years back and subsequently failed to repay it. He is now lodged in Kanpur tehsil jail. Wahana told TNN: “I was arrested at a time when I had to make arrangements for my daughters’ marriage. This has tarnished my image in the village and its neighbourhood. I do not know what to do now, kill myself?�
Raju and Wahana are no exceptions. There are scores of other farmers who are locked in various tehsil jails of Kanpur City and Kanpur Dehat for similar reasons. Besides, hundreds of defaulting farmers are quitting their villages to escape arrest by recovery teams. Consider the case of Chunna Singh of Bidhnoo, who had taken a loan of Rs 4,000 in 1995 for seeds and failed to repay it. He is now living the life of a vagabond. “I have not visited my home for the last one week. I am seeking refuge in a relative’s house in the city. I am getting regular information that the tehsil team is hunting for me.� Chunna informed that though he had taken a loan of Rs 4,000 in 1995, the total debt (including the interest) he has to pay now is Rs 20,000.
Head of Chandra Shekhar Krishi Samiti Anil Kumar Katiyar said that about 15 farmers of Shivrajpur have been arrested this month for nonpayment of dues. He said the government should find a solution to the problem instead of “throwing� farmers behind the bars. Katiyar said: “Shiv Rajpur lies in the potato belt. The farmers here are incurring huge losses due to low returns on their produce this year. How can you expect them to repay their dues under such circumstances?�
However, DM Arvind Kumar had a different tale to tell. “The government had stayed recovery of dues from the farmers only till March this year. Now the administration is free to recover it,� he said.
He said there were several thousand defaulting farmers in Kanpur City only. Tehsildar RC Shukla told TNN he had received recovery orders from various banks against defaulting farmers and a “massive� campaign will be soon launched against them.
However, president of Kisan Kamgar Sammellan KK Shukla urged the government to waive off the dues of the farmers. “Framers are being sent to jail. What will happen to their families?� he asked adding “the government should waive off loans upto Rs 25,000.�