India's youngest state, Telangana has seen 3,049 farmer suicides since its inception

According to data by NGO Rytu Swarajya Vedhika, 307 farmers have committed suicide in the last six months in the state

3,049, that is the number of farmer suicides that Telangana has reported ever since its inception in 2014. On an average, 1,000 farmers killed themselves every year in India's youngest state and if that number doesn't worry you, this should. The government has announced exgratia to only to families of about 700 farmers out of the 3,049 who committed suicides.

"The core reason for the suicide is agriculture being an unviable option. The farmer doesn't know anything else and his lone occupation is not profitable. His debts are mounting leading to multiple issues. At least 90 percent of the farmers suffer from financial pressures and very very few of them take the extreme step,' said Naveen Ramisetty, a volunteer with Rytu Swarajya Vedika‏.

The statistics are shocking. The numbers have been collected districts based on news reports while many other suicides go unnoticed or reported. In 2014, between June, when Telangana attained statehood, and December 792 farmers committed suicide. 2015 was horrible for Telangana's farming community that lost 1147 farmers to suicide.

784 farmers killed themselves in 2016 and in 2017, within a mere six months, 307 farmers have committed suicide. In the last three years, out of the 3000 plus farmers who have committed suicide, 175 were women. "Officials never visit the families of deceased farmers. When they visit, they ask insensitive questions. When a woman farmer committed suicide recently, her husband was asked why she committed suicide over loans and not the husband," Naveen added.

The Rytu Swarajya Vedika‏ collects data of farmer suicides and visits families of deceased farmers to access the ground situation. In most cases, the government and officials try their best to deem personal problems as the trigger for suicides. "What they forget to consider is that financial crisis in the agriculture is the core issue of which every problem that a farmer faces stems from," he added.

While India's youngest state governed by K Chandrasekhar Rao's TRS government is fast losing its farmers, the lack of acknowledgment and institutional support is only making matters worse.

OneIndia News