A 63-year-old farmer died by suicide allegedly after the borewell dried due to a drought-like condition in Uttara Kannada district, people familiar with the matter said.
The incident came to light in the evening when family members reached the farm when he did not return home, they said.
According to officials, the deceased, a resident of Indura village in Mundagoda taluk of Uttara Kannada district, owns 2.14 acres of land in the village where he planted arecanut and plantains this year, and was expecting a good crop.
The farmer, the officials said, also availed an agricultural loan of ₹2 lakhs from a nationalised bank and the local cooperative society for developing his farm.
However, due to a drought-like situation across the state, the plants started drying. Later, the only borewell on which he was dependent for irrigation also dried up.
On Thursday, he went to his field and found crops dying due to a shortage of rain. He allegedly consumed pesticides on the farm itself and died on the spot, officials said.
Another farmer in the village Nagarajaiah said: “The groundwater level has decreased in the village, causing the drying of borewell.” “Though the deceased was in debt, he was not worried about repaying them, but when crops dried due to the drying of the borewell, he was upset,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Another farmer in the village Nagarajaiah said: “The groundwater level has decreased in the village, causing the drying of borewell.” “Though the deceased was in debt, he was not worried about repaying them, but when crops dried due to the drying of the borewell, he was upset,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Mundagoda police inspector Hanumanthappa Kudagunti said: “The farmer took an extreme step after he saw the plants drying up.”
We have registered a case of unnatural death and an investigation is underway.
Police further said the farmer’s body was handed over to the family after an autopsy at Mundagoda Taluk Government Hospital.