Despite having received adequate rainfall this year in most of the states in the country, there seems to be no end to the misery of farmers. Even after recording close to a ‘normal’ monsoon with receipt of 97 per cent of normal rainfall in the country, 134 farmers committed suicide in Telangana in August, according to a survey conducted by Rhythu Swarajya Vedika – a Telangana-based umbrella body of farmers’ NGOs.
Represenational picture
This year brought some relief to the state after three years of drought with record rain in September almost overfilling the dams and other reservoirs. However, that could not stop 134 famers from taking their lives in the months of August and September. According to the news reports, the state government is yet to investigate the veracity of the news reports. If the number provided by the umbrella body is correct, as pointed out by news report, the number of farmer suicides in India’s infant state will cross the number 2, 500.
Although the amount of rainfall was adequate enough in the state, the erratic nature of the monsoon rains seem to have caused losses to the farmers, according to some dailies. NDTV reports that many of the farmers from Medak district had opted for the maize crop instead of cotton. It claims that this choice was advised by the state government as well as the CM K Chandrashekhar Rao: switch from cotton to maize, on the prediction that the prices of cotton were certain to crash on account of an over-supply of the fibre. However, as maize is not as hardy as cotton, the choice proved disastrous when the inadequate rainfall in the month of August damaged the maize crop.
However, some reports are contradiction this hypothesis claiming that the flood-like situation in the state in the month of October was responsible for the major damage to the crop. According to a Hindu BusinessLine report, 1.5 lakh hectares of crop was damaged in Telangana as a result of incessant rains of September. Though the rains hit almost all of the districts of Telangana, Warangal, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Ranga Reddy districts bore the brunt of the fury of the monsoon, according to the said report.
Telangana has formed nine teams to assess the extent of the damage in the state.
Although the reason of the losses remains unclear from the contradicting news reports, the losses have indeed prompted the farmers to take extreme steps, if the numbers provided by the NGO body are to be believed.