Mandya, Jul 9 (DHNS): Four debt-stressed women attempted suicide by setting fire to full-grown sugar cane crop and tried to jump into it at H Malligere in the taluk on Wednesday.
A few shepherds and the farmers working in the nearby farms foiled the suicide bid.
It is learnt, Sunanda Nagendra, Jayanti Suresh, Kannamma and Parvatamma had entered into a suicide pact after they didn't find any takers for their ready-for-harvesting cane. Accordingly the quartet set fire to the full-grown cane and tried to jump into it. But for timely intervention, all the four would have been killed in the fire.
The shepherds informed the villagers about the incident. Fire department personnel rushed to the spot but they couldn not save the cane grown on six acres.
“Cane is ready for harvesting. The owners of jaggery producing units are not willing to buy the cane. I had taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh. The moneylenders are harassing my family members to repay the loan with interest. Same is the case with three others. Sunanda owes Rs 3 lakh to creditors while Parvatamma and Kannamma had taken loans of Rs 5 lakh and one lakh respectively. Hence, we decided to set the standing crop on fire and end our lives by jumping into the blaze,” said, Jayanti.
Cane grown on 2.5 acres belonging to Parvatamma was gutted in the fire. Likewise, the yield on 1.6 acres and 1.5 acres owned by Sunanda and Jayanti was destroyed in the fire. Similarly, cane ready for harvesting on one acre of farm belonging to Kannamma too was lost.
Shekar, one of the shepherds who rescued women, told Deccan Herald, “I spotted the blaze and rushed towards the sugar cane fields. I noticed women walking into the field. I along with other shepherds and farmers in the vicinity rescued the women.”
Assistant Commissioner Arul Kumar, DySP Udesh inspected the spot.
C M orders probe into farmers' deaths
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered an inquiry into the series of deaths of farmers in the State. More than 30 farmers committed suicide across the State in the last three months with the highest number in June. Speaking to media persons after inaugurating the Tissue Culture Lab and Analytical Lab for Bio-refineries and laying the foundation stone for a hostel for trainees at the Nijalingappa Sugar Institute in Belagavi on Wednesday, Siddaramaih said farmer suicides were not reported last year, but 30 deaths have been reported this year. An inquiry would be conducted to ascertain the reasons for the deaths of these farmers, he said.
Meanwhile, the chief minister declined to comment on the letter shot off by KPCC president G Parameshwara to the Congress high command with regard to the deaths of farmers in the State.