Farmer Dies by Suicide Over Government’s Delay in Compensation

Farmer Dies by Suicide: An official information got to reporters that a farmer who was 55 years old took suicide in Belur taluk days after the farmer complained about delay in compensation for the lands acquired through the Yettinahole water project. No suicide note was found, said officials.

As per an official, the farmer was said to have jumped into a canal near Vaddarahalli on Monday alleging unpaid compensation for the land he owned in Shivapura Kavalu. Immediately after the incident, categories of protests broke out as farmers would not allow their officials to take away the body of the deceased from the canal.

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Protests were called off after the authorities' commitment to meeting compensation demands. Then, as indicated, the body of the deceased farmer was taken from the canal.

Shekhar Gowda, panchayat member of a local village alleged that the entire system was corrupt in the compensation process. “Land acquisition department officers are demanding bribes ranging from 20 to 30% to provide compensation to farmers,” he said while emphasising that the deceased farmer had not received compensation for over three years, “which contributed to his desperate decision”.

Former BJP minister B Shivaram visited the site of the protest on Monday to console the grieving farmers and criticized the inefficiency of the government in processing claim for compensation.

M Mamatha, tahsildar who also came to the site promised the protesters that they would review the application for compensation made by the deceased farmer. She declared a temporary relief of ₹2 lakh for the relative of the deceased. “The farmer lost 1.3 acres of land for the Yettinahole project in 2020,” she said.

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She further said: “Forest officials claimed the land belongs to their department and that the farmer was an illegal encroacher. Although a decision has been taken at the government level to compensate farmers using such lands, the farmer took an extreme step before the issue could be resolved. He was entitled to ₹15.3 lakh in compensation, but no suicide note was found, so the exact reason for his death remains unclear.”

Maruti, sub-divisional magistrate of Hassan, said that the dead farmer had not produced the relevant documents for compensation. “The land in Shivapura Kavalu is classified as forest land, which has delayed compensation for many farmers in Shivapura and Aidalla Kavalu. However, we will recommend compensation for all eligible farmers under the project,” he said.

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