K'taka: CM seeks Centre help in farmer suicides

Bangalore, Dec 12: Expressing concern over the rise in the incidence of suicides by farmers due to economic burden, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today urged the Centre to come up with a policy to help the poor ryots and check the suicides.

Talking to the media here, he emphasised that the State Government was with the farmers and asked them not to resort to such extreme steps. As the issue was not limited to the State's purview, the Centre should immediately bring in measures to stop the suicides, he said.

Mr Kumaraswamy said that at least 178 farmers had committed suicide in the last one year, including seven in the last one week, in the State. Of them, 44 farmers had ended their lives unable to repay their loans, he added.

He said the State Government had released Rs 66 crore as part of the market intervention programme to stablise the price of onion.

The new agriculture policy would be announced on December 14.

UNI