Farmer ends life as trader denies him seeds over dues in Telangana's Khammam district

A day after a farmer had ended his life due to financial problems in the erstwhile Khammam district, another farmer committed suicide in the district on Tuesday on being denied seeds by a dealer to wh
Farmer ends life as trader denies him seeds over dues in Telangana's Khammam district

BHADRADRI KOTHAGUDEM:A day after a farmer had ended his life due to financial problems in the erstwhile Khammam district, another farmer committed suicide in the district on Tuesday on being denied seeds by a dealer to whom he did not clear the dues of last season.

According to information reaching here, the tribal farmer, Gugulothu Mancha (45), of Panthula tanda went to a shop at Patamata Narasapuram village to buy cotton seeds. As per the usual practice, farmers purchase seeds on loan and repay the amount after selling the crop. Mancha cultivated cotton in his 10-acre land last season but suffered losses and could not repay the debt to the seed seller. For the past four days he had been visiting Sri Ganesh Traders to buy cotton seeds for this season.

The shop owner, Muvva Ramesh, refused to give him seeds as Mancha owed him `1 lakh. Mancha tried to convince Ramesh that he would repay the loan at the end of the kharif crop. On Monday, he met Ramesh again and pleaded with him to give him cotton seeds. A heated argument ensued between the the two during which the trader humiliated the farmer and also allegedly abused him in the name of caste.
Feeling humiliated and with no money to buy seeds for fresh crop, Mancha consumed pesticide on early Tuesday morning. He was first shifted to a hospital in Khammam and laterto Warangal but he died on the way.

Angry family members staged a dharna in front of the fertiliser shop, demanding action against the shop owner and holding him responsible for the farmer’s death. The farmer is survived by wife, three daughters and a son.  Police registered a case under SC/ST Atrocities Act against Ramesh.

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