One year, 402 farmer suicides: Resurgence of agrarian crisis feared in Telangana

The tragic spike in the number of suicides in the State has started grabbing attention nationwide once again

Hyderabad: A pall of gloom still floats over the serene Saidupur village in Bela mandal of Adilabad district. The suicide of Jadav Devrao (48) on the very premises of the bank that lent him Rs 3.5 lakh came as a shocker for the farming community in the State. The farmer’s dream of providing a comfortable life for his two sons and daughter died along with him.

With his five-acre plot of land, Devrao had toiled day and night to cultivate crops, hoping for a harvest that would secure his family’s future. But the reality of farming in Telangana was far harsher than he anticipated. The State has witnessed many such deaths during the last two weeks, with farmers feeling cornered by the circumstances, as the financial stability they enjoyed for over a decade in the past is on the wane.

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Life has turned nightmarish for them. Devrao’s story is not an isolated case. The State witnessed three similar cases in just one day. Telangana has seen as many as 402 farmer suicides during the one year of Congress rule and another 200 unnatural deaths including cases of deaths due to electrocution.

The tragic spike in the number of suicides in the State has started grabbing attention nationwide once again. Financial burdens, coupled with unfulfilled promises and lack of support, have led to a spike in farmer suicides. The Congress government in Telangana is drawing heavy flak for its failure to fulfil key promises to the farming community.

The much-touted loan waiver promise, which aimed to waive crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh, remains unfulfilled for many farmers. Data from the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) reveals that while Rs 49,500 crore in crop loans were disbursed during the financial year 2023-24, only Rs 17,933 crore has been waived, covering just 22.37 lakh farmers. This has left many farmers feeling betrayed and abandoned.

The Rythu Bharosa Scheme, as promised by the Congress leadership, was intended to provide financial assistance of Rs 15,000 per acre per year. But this has also fallen short in implementation. The government had initially promised to increase it from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per acre. But it later announced a reduced amount of Rs 12,000 per acre.

The Congress government released one instalment of Rythu Bandhu due before December 2023, but it later discontinued the investment support scheme for the next two crop seasons, which had a telling effect on the peasant community in the State. This has sparked widespread protests, with farmers expressing their dissatisfaction and sense of deception. Power failures and the deprivation of benefits from various farmer-friendly initiatives have added further to the crisis.

The cumulative impact of these failures has been devastating for the farming community in Telangana. The pressures of financial distress, unfulfilled promises, and lack of support have pushed many farmers to the brink, resulting in tragic outcomes. During the decade preceding 2024, the farmer in the State had found himself on a high perch, with the State government extending full support to the farming community. Now, he finds himself fallen off the perch. Life is no longer the same.

“We have seen just one year of the Congress rule and what the government has delivered despite tall promises has been disappointing,” says KVNL Narasimha Rao, a farmer from Nelakondapalli.

In 2014, around 1,300 farmers died by suicide. By 2015, the number increased to approximately 1,400 due to severe drought conditions. Proactive measures by the BRS government led to a dramatic decline in suicides in the later years, with a 686.5% reduction from 2015 to 2022. By 2022, the number of farming-related suicides in Telangana had decreased to 178.

The comparison shows that while there was a significant reduction in farmer suicides during the BRS government’s tenure, the resurgence in 2024 indicates added challenges making the lives of farmers miserable.