Debt-ridden sugarcane grower commits suicide

Gulbarga, May 1 (UNI) Unable to repay his farm loans, a sugarcane grower committed suicide by hanging at Narayanapur village in Jewargi taluk in this district of Karnataka, yesterday.

Basavaraj Siddaramappa (45) took the extreme step as he was not in a position to repay Rs 1.5 lakh loan raised from the Krishna Grameena Bank and DCC Bank after the Renuka Sugars allegedly failed to lift sugarcane grown by him, District Raitha Sangha President Kedaralinga Hiremath told newspersons here today.

He alleged that Renuka Sugars was showing reluctance to lift sugarcane from small farmers and demanded that the State Government announce Rs 500 as compensation for each tonne of sugarcane grown in the region.

It may be recalled here that nine sugarcane farmers had attempted suicide in front of the Tahsildar's office in Jewargi on April 11, demanding that the Government ensure that the Renuka Sugars bought sugarcane from the farmers of the region, instead of those from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. On April 17, Sugarcane Commissioner Munjunath held a meeting with sugarcane growers and the management of Renuka Sugars and convinced the latter to lift sugarcane from the farmers of the region.

UNI