Surender, a farmer residing in Medchal, allegedly took his own life. While his family points to his inability to avail crop loan waiver in Telangana, officials deny it as cause.
Published Sep 12, 2024 | 3:03 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 12, 2024 | 8:22 PM
The site at the Mandal Agriculture Office where 52-year-old farmer Surender Reddy took his life.
The waiver of crop loans under ₹2 lakh was one of the six guarantees promised by the Congress in Telangana ahead of assuming the governance of the state in December last year.
Even though the grand old party claims a seamless process of loan waivers, reports emerge that many farmers have not benefitted from the said scheme.
Opposition BRS in the state has been claiming that the loan waiver was an eye-wash and majority of farmers in Telangana were left out from availing its benefit. A farmer’s suicide amid all the debate has turned into a bone of contention.
On 6 September, Medchal awoke to Surender Reddy’s suicide at the Medchal Mandal Parishad Development Office. Surender, a farmer residing in the Medchal district of Telangana, died by suicide and his family said it was after he was unable to avail of the crop loan waiver in Telangana.
This suicide comes as Telangana is seeing an increasing number of voices expressing discontent regarding the Congress’ flagship scheme, the Runamaafi’s, alleged inefficient implementation.
The waiver which promised to waive loans under ₹2 lakh is yet to meet its targets by a long stretch despite much celebration within the party.
Living in Medchal for about six years, Surender and his mother are natives of the Chittapur Mandal in Siddipet district. He migrated with his family, wife and child, to Medchal to ensure their son received good education.
Balancing his roles as a family man and farmer, he travelled back home to manage his two acres of farmland every week since moving to Medchal. The 52-year-old consistently travelled 140 kilometres weekly to provide for his family and his son’s education.
A small farmer, Surender took out a crop loan of ₹1.9 lakh from the Andhra Pradesh Grameen Vikas Bank (APGVB) in Siddipet district. Despite having an individual loan under ₹2 lakh, the clubbed loan under his mother’s ration card exceeded the limit of ₹2.7 lakh.
At the scene of the suicide, Surender left behind a scraggly scribbled note.
“My mother is the reason for my death (naa chaavu ki karanam na amma)” Surender’s muddied suicide note read repeatedly.
Surender’s suicide note
“It happened right behind my office,” Additional Director of Agriculture of Medchal Venkata Rama Reddy revealed.
The Additional Director of Agriculture of Medchal stated that Surender hadn’t approached the office before. “Why would a farmer from Siddipet come to Medchal for an agriculture-related issue?” he asked.
“He (Surender) just fought with his mother. He was depressed and anxious with underlying health issues like high blood pressure and diabetes too,” Medchal Station House Officer, A Satyanarayana, informed.
Elaborating, he said, “He showed up at the Agriculture Office early in the morning and hung himself.”
However, he denied that Surender approached the Agriculture Office earlier. “What business would a farmer from Siddipet have at the Medchal Agriculture Office?” he asked.
“He was worried that his loan would not be waived due to clubbing of loans and hastily ended his life,” he concluded.
“If our family had a feud, why would I house my brother?” Ravinder Reddy, Surender’s older brother questioned.
“If they can’t waive the loan they should say it, why trouble the people, why demean his death. My brother was not depressed or hasty,” he exclaimed.
“I spent lakhs of my money protecting his life when he caught the Coronavirus, I took care of him each step of the recovery. He was extremely precious to me. How could my mother or I drive him to his death?” he asked. He reported feeling attacked by the authorities and media due to their emphasis on a reportedly non-existent family feud.
“Nobody knows the kind of distress he must have been in when writing the letter, he must’ve miswritten it or meant something entirely different,” he opined regarding Surender’s suicide note.
“They promised to waive his loans, but the clubbed loans under my mother’s ration card amounted to over ₹2 lakh,” Ravinder added. He called this conditional waiver hypocritical, accusing the government of undercutting his brother.
The crop loan waiver promised to waive all loans under ₹2 lakh, with the caveat that a family’s loans would be clubbed under their ration card.
“Surender has been to the Agriculture office twice, I’ve gone with him once as well. The evidence for this is surely recorded,” Ravinder said.
He added that the claims that Surender never approached the office were incredulous.
“I’ve lost my brother already, and now they’re defaming my entire family. I will not stand for this,” Ravinder stated. “In this situation, I’m unable to do anything. However, as soon as I partially recover, I will take everyone to court,” he declared.
Left distrustful of the media, Ravinder refused to divulge any more information regarding the family.
Surender is survived by a wife, a teenage son, a mother, a brother, and a sister.
South First visited Kodangal, Siddipet, and Rajanna Sircilla districts to gauge the reality of the Congress’ successful Runamaafi. In all these places numerous farmers still awaited the waiver.
In most cases, the ration card starved these farmers of a waiver as their multiple loans were clubbed together under old cards. For several others, the waiver was rejected without any reason despite meeting the conditions.
However, the Department of Agriculture is currently working to redress all the grievances regarding the crop loan waiver. Agriculture offices across Mandals are sending officials door-to-door to understand to attempt to resolve the farmers’ issues.
Medchal ADA and Malyala ex-Sarpanch, Medakayal Yadaiah, confirmed the same.
Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao and Medchal MLA Malla Reddy, of the BRS, paid their respects to Surender.
With growing discontent and now a farmer’s suicide, it remains to be seen if the Telangana government will amend their existing guidelines, admitting their shortcomings, or continue to falsify their success, ignorant of ground realities.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
