Debt-ridden family forced to pay Rs 7 lakh hospital bill after farmer’s death in Siddipet

A debt-ridden farmer from Siddipet district died after consuming pesticide, following crop damage from untimely rains. His family, already struggling with loans, was forced to pay Rs 7 lakh for treatment after a private hospital demanded Rs 9 lakh before discharge

Siddipet: The family of a farmer, who attempted suicide unable to clear a loan of Rs 4.5 lakh, was forced to pay Rs 7 lakh on his treatment, which tragically could not save his life.

Rikkala Srinivas Reddy (54), a resident of Ramavaram in Akkannapet mandal, battled for his life in hospital for six days before succumbing after he attempted suicide on November 13. However, the trauma for his wife and two sons did not end with his loss. They were forced to pay up Rs 7 lakh after the hospital first demanded Rs 9 lakh for his treatment.

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Untimely rains during the paddy harvest had pushed Srinivas Reddy’s family into a deep crisis. He saw his three-acre paddy field completely damaged in the heavy rains that lashed the district in the last week of October. Reddy, who owns four and a half acres, had cultivated paddy in three acres and red gram in one and a half acres. He could not even harvest the paddy as it remained submerged in water for the last 20 days. Already burdened with debts, he lost hope of recovering even his investment in the crop.

Depressed over this, Reddy attempted suicide on November 13 by consuming pesticide. His family rushed him to a private hospital in Karimnagar the same day. As his condition worsened, they tried to shift him to a corporate hospital in Hyderabad on Tuesday evening. Adding to their financial burden, the hospital demanded Rs 9 lakh bill before discharging him. They finally settled for Rs 7 lakh after much pleading from the family members.

However, the torment did not end there, with Srinivas Reddy breathing his last on the way to Hyderabad. His body was taken to the government hospital in Husnabad for postmortem. The incident has left the family in shock, with villagers urging the government to extend support to the farmer’s family.