Medak (Telangana):Â Â That was the last call he made. And shortly after that he was found hanging from a tree. “Please take care of my children: you will not see me again,” he said before hanging up. The village headman rushed to his farm to find the 28-year-old hanging from a tree near his house.
This is the story of one of the hundred debt-ridden farmers who have killed themselves in the last two months in India’s newest state, which has suffered the poorest monsoon in the country. For the past few days, heavy rain has filled up tanks in Telangana but for most farmers, it is too late to plant new crop. They have no money to do so.
In Thimmakapally village, Beeraiah’s family members still can’t believe that a confident and resourceful man, who always advised others not to lose hope, could just give up, according to an NDTV report. “I thought my son would look after me in old age. Now I have to keep myself alive so his children don’t starve,” says his 65-year-old father Singaiah.Â
Beeraiah’s 24-year-old wife has two young children to think of – Jaswant, 7, and Devender, 5.
“Even with a good crop, we would just have enough to survive. We were never able to repay loans,” Manjula said. Now she has to find a way of surviving with her family.
Critics say the government has failed to help the farmers, the state’s new government squarely blames decades of neglect by authorities from Seemandhra, or the leftover region after the division of Andhra Pradesh on June 2 for the creation of Telangana.Â
Beyond politics, the state government appears to have no plan to help the farmers. The Centre says it can do nothing unless the state declares drought and seeks help.Â