A paddy farmer from Thakazhi in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, died by suicide allegedly after banks denied him agriculture loan. The deceased has been identified as K.G. Prasad, 55.
In a phone call he made to his friend before committing suicide and a note allegedly written by him, which was recovered from his house, Mr. Prasad accused the State government and a few banks of pushing him to take the extreme step.
He was heard telling his friend that he was in a financial crisis and banks recently denied him a loan for cultivating paddy in the upcoming puncha (first) crop season citing a low CIBIL score.
Mr. Prasad further said he received the paddy procurement price for the last season from a bank as post-harvest credit on the production of the paddy receipt sheet (PRS). “It is the government’s responsibility to repay the PRS loan with interest to the bank. But it failed to fulfil its responsibility and it affected my CIBIL score. When I approached banks for a fresh loan they denied it. I have no money to buy fertilisers this season. I have failed in my life,” he was heard in the voice clip.
As per the note, he had also taken a loan in 2011 from a nationalised bank and defaulted in repayment. Later, he paid ₹20,000 towards the mortgage and closed the loan under a ‘one-time payment scheme’ offered by the bank in 2020. “Banks cited the 2011 loan and PRS loan for not extending me a fresh mortgage,” the note reads.
The farmer’s death once again brought to the fore the distress in the agriculture sector, especially the plaguing issues faced by paddy farmers in the State. The farmers in the region, most of them marginal ryots cultivating rice on leased fields, had to wait for months to receive the price of paddy procured from them in the 2022-23 puncha crop season. The government has not yet begun the distribution of procurement price in the ongoing additional (second) crop season.
As is the norm, farmers are issued PRS receipts after procuring paddy from them. On producing the PRS, banks release the procurement price as loan. Later, the government repays the amount with interest to banks. Though the government maintains that farmers taking PRS loans do not incur any liability, ryots say that banks consider them as borrowers and the government’s failure to repay the amount to banks on time affects their CIBIL scores.
Mr. Prasad who tried to kill himself on Friday died in a hospital at Thiruvalla on Saturday. He was a Bharatiya Janata Party activist and had served as the district president of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. Meanwhile, his friends alleged that he was denied proper treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, citing a lack of beds in the intensive care unit. They later took him to Thiruvalla.
The Ambalappuzha police registered a case for unnatural death. “We have recovered a note from his house and are in the process of verifying its authenticity,” said an officer.
BJP workers led by party leader P.K. Krishnadas staged a roadblock on the Ambalappuzha-Thiruvalla State Highway at Thakazhi with Prasad’s body against the government’s apathy towards farmers.
Study issues: Khan
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said farmers in the State were in real difficulty.
He was speaking to mediapersons after paying his last respects to the deceased farmer at a hospital in Thiruvalla on Saturday. Mr. Khan said he would take up farmers’ issues with the Union and State governments.
“It is not an isolated incident. Earlier also farmers committed suicide in the region. Despite giving certain assurances, farmers continue to take extreme steps. We need to look into reasons why their situation has not improved despite guarantees. Their issues need to be studied seriously to provide relief to them. We need to be more sensitive towards their cause,” Mr. Khan said adding that this was not the time for a blame game.
(People in distress or having suicidal thoughts can seek counselling by calling the suicide prevention helpline number: DISHA- 0471-2552056, 1056).
