Having worked as a bonded labourer since he was 12 years old, Lingappa Shirahatti of Chikka Handigol in Gadag taluk reached out for a better life for himself and his old parents who continued to work on farms. He took the bold step of taking 28 acres of raid-fed farmland on lease in phases over the years by paying an annual fee of between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000 an acre. He grew onions, Bt cotton and white jowar.
But his dream of striking it big and giving his family the comforts they had been living without for so long, came crashing down with the drought and five months ago he ended it all, committing suicide as he could not repay his loans or keep his farm going. He was just 32 years old and in the prime of his life. He left behind four little children and a young wife, Laxmavva besides his old mother Parvatevva, who have now experienced first-hand, the callousness of the government, which has not even met the cost of performing the last rites of the young farmer.
“We have no agricultural work in the village as there was no rain last year and we are living on rice, jowar, wheat and other foodgrains that we take on credit from our neighbours. We have promised to return what we have borrowed in kind once we get jobs during the kharif season in June. We have also sold all our cattle to repay our loans,” says Parvatevva with tears welling up in her eyes.
Everyone knew that Lingappa Shirahatti was a sincere, hardworking man who had spent nearly two decades as a bonded laboourer under several landlords, until he decided to break the shackles and bravely venture into farming himself. Realising that the one acre his father owned would not meet the family’s needs, he did the only thing possible – try his luck on a bigger farm by leasing more land. He borrowed Rs 1 lakh and pledged the one acre farm to support his venture. But the drought proved to be his biggest enemy.
Ravaging the district for two consecutive years, it left him little to fall back on. In despair he downed a pesticide on his farm and informed his family about what he had done on the phone. Although rushed to hospital, he died on the way. There was the usual flurry of visits by politicians and officials to console the family which is even now waiting to receive compensation.