Not everybody loves a good drought
Sitting outside her small house in front of a huge pile of peas, Radha was whacking them with a meter-long stick. Radha, one of late G. C. Siddapa’s daughters, does not talk much. A cheerful and a happy girl once, Radha sits in a corner of the house alone the entire day.
Life after Siddapa was dull. When someone new comes to talk to her, she uses the stick to chase them away.
Siddapa lived in Basapura, a small, quiet village some 10 km outside the main town of Holalkere in Chitradurga. He committed suicide in April 2009 after the continuous failure of his crops. Almost three years after this tragic incident, his family has still not recovered and life has not improved for them.
Their family received a compensation of Rs.100,000 in October 2010, more than a year after Siddapa’s death. Radha did not appreciate the compensation that she received nor was she amused with people talking to her. “Go away! Why do you want to talk to me,” she screamed when people tried to converse with her. For her neighbors, this was not surprising. “Her father’s death really affected her. She does not talk to people much. We think she has a mental problem,” said her neighbor.
To Natrajan, Siddapa’s friend for the last 20 years, his death came as a shock. He had lived close to Siddapa’s house and was used to seeing him everyday. One fine morning he was gone. “It was the same old reason, his debts were increasing and profits were decreasing and this forced him to commit suicide,” he said.
The compensation that came in did not make much of a difference to the family because it was paid out so late and money lenders were still knocking on their doors. Despite all his financial crises, Siddapa managed to raise his children well. A family of four girls, they were a thick unit. His first three daughters are married while Radha, the youngest one is still unmarried.
“When Siddapa died, Radha was left alone,” said Natarajan. He also said that people suspect this could be the reason why she is so unfriendly to others. Now his lands are managed by one of her sisters’ husband and the family is struggling to make ends meet.
Holalkere taluk, located in Chitradurga district, is like most other small towns in the country, where the main occupation is agriculture. The chief crops grown in the area are maize, cotton, areca nut, jowar, and ragi.
Most of these crops need a lot of water to survive and water is easily the biggest problem facing agriculture in this taluk. It is not only hindering the growth but also other sectors. Mounting debts along with water problems has led to farmer suicides. In the last six years, 49 farmers have committed suicide.
This is not a new trend in Karnataka. Along with farmers from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Karnataka is one of the biggest contributors to farm suicides. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India for 2010 reveals that Karnataka stood second with 2,585 farmer suicides. At least 17,368 Indian farmers killed themselves in 2009, the worst figure for farm suicides in six years, according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It brings the total farm suicides since 2000 to 186,745.
Read more...
Life after Siddapa was dull. When someone new comes to talk to her, she uses the stick to chase them away.
Siddapa lived in Basapura, a small, quiet village some 10 km outside the main town of Holalkere in Chitradurga. He committed suicide in April 2009 after the continuous failure of his crops. Almost three years after this tragic incident, his family has still not recovered and life has not improved for them.
Their family received a compensation of Rs.100,000 in October 2010, more than a year after Siddapa’s death. Radha did not appreciate the compensation that she received nor was she amused with people talking to her. “Go away! Why do you want to talk to me,” she screamed when people tried to converse with her. For her neighbors, this was not surprising. “Her father’s death really affected her. She does not talk to people much. We think she has a mental problem,” said her neighbor.
To Natrajan, Siddapa’s friend for the last 20 years, his death came as a shock. He had lived close to Siddapa’s house and was used to seeing him everyday. One fine morning he was gone. “It was the same old reason, his debts were increasing and profits were decreasing and this forced him to commit suicide,” he said.
The compensation that came in did not make much of a difference to the family because it was paid out so late and money lenders were still knocking on their doors. Despite all his financial crises, Siddapa managed to raise his children well. A family of four girls, they were a thick unit. His first three daughters are married while Radha, the youngest one is still unmarried.
“When Siddapa died, Radha was left alone,” said Natarajan. He also said that people suspect this could be the reason why she is so unfriendly to others. Now his lands are managed by one of her sisters’ husband and the family is struggling to make ends meet.
Holalkere taluk, located in Chitradurga district, is like most other small towns in the country, where the main occupation is agriculture. The chief crops grown in the area are maize, cotton, areca nut, jowar, and ragi.
Most of these crops need a lot of water to survive and water is easily the biggest problem facing agriculture in this taluk. It is not only hindering the growth but also other sectors. Mounting debts along with water problems has led to farmer suicides. In the last six years, 49 farmers have committed suicide.
This is not a new trend in Karnataka. Along with farmers from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Karnataka is one of the biggest contributors to farm suicides. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India for 2010 reveals that Karnataka stood second with 2,585 farmer suicides. At least 17,368 Indian farmers killed themselves in 2009, the worst figure for farm suicides in six years, according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It brings the total farm suicides since 2000 to 186,745.
Read more...