People's Democracy

KERALA FARMS IN DISTRESS

Two More Peasants Commit Suicide; Toll Goes up to 11

N S Sajith

THREE more farmers committed suicide in Kerala in only three days, due to debt. An areca nut grower was found dead in Kasargode district on Saturday, November 19, and so were two peasants in Palakkad and Wayanad on Monday, November 21. All of them had consumed poison. Thus the death toll in the preceding two weeks has gone up to 11.

The trend of peasant suicides has now spread to six districts of the state, while the chief minister Oommen Chandy has been trying to justify these deaths as an outcome of other reasons. While the previous LDF ministry had by and large contained the trend, Oommen Chandy’s second term is witness to the spread of the trend to Kasargode, Kannur, Idukki, Wayanad, Thrissur and Kottayam.

Ayyappa Maniyani (55) of Karadukka killed himself by consuming pesticide after he became defaulted in repayment of a bank loan. He was indebted for Rs 2 lakh. He had been cultivating areca nut, coconut and paddy. Ayyappa is survived by wife and three children.

A many time award winning farmer, Chandran (53) of Peruvembu in Palakkad, consumed pesticides when he defaulted in repayment. He too owed a debt of Rs 2 lakh. He had been looking after cattle for many years. He is survived by wife and four children.

P Kunjikrishnan of Poodadi also defaulted on loan repayment to many banks. Sudden crop failure led to his suicide.

In the meanwhile, leaders of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) visited the affected families in Wayanad district where five peasants have committed suicide. LDF convenor and CPI(M) Central Committee member Vaikom Viswan, CPI leader K E Ismai (MP), RSP leader N K Premachandran, JDS leader C K Nanu (MLA), Ramachandran Kadannappalli and A K Saseendran (MLA) from Congress(S) and Kerala Congress leader P C Thomas visited the homes of the suicide victims.

From the LDF side, Vaikom Viswan said the first culprit of this deep crisis affecting the agriculture sector are the union and state governments, and demanded that all debt owed by peasants must be written off. He was addressing a media conference at Batheri in Wayanad after visiting the homes of the victims in the district. He said all such debt should be considered as farm loans. All the peasants depend on agriculture to meet both ends and have no other option of income generation. In these circumstances the only way out is writing off the loans the owe, Viswan said. The argument proffered by the chief minister on peasant suicides is nothing but inhuman, he added.