Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The issue of farmer suicides in Karnataka made its way into the Independence Day speech of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The state government has been criticised for its response to the deaths which spiked to more than 180 in the month of July alone.
"In 2015 April, May and June there were 39 deaths. In July there were 182. The Karnataka government is examining why this is happening. We are doing what we can to help with agriculture, horticulture, irrigation... Farmers face big challenges and we are working for them and also asking for help from the central government. I have visited the houses of farmers. So have other ministers. We have enhanced the compensation to families of those who killed themselves from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh."
The state government hopes that the situation is improving now, with some sugar factories starting to pay pending dues to sugarcane farmers. There has also been a crackdown on private moneylenders who charge exorbitant interest rates, putting more pressure on farmers.
NDTV had visited the family of one such farmer who hanged himself at his home in Machanahalli village in Mandya district.
"He didn't tell me anything. He said there was a debt. I said I would also work and help pay the debt," said Nagarathnamma, the widow of 41-year-old Siddaraju.
The couple worked as farm labourers to try and make ends meet and provide education for their two daughters.
"We wanted our children to at least have a future and go ahead and felt they had to study. I will work as a labourer but I will make my children study," she said.
Though the Mandya region has fertile and irrigated land, 90 per cent of the land holdings are small. Siddaraju also owned less than an acre, which wasn't even transferred to his name, as the paperwork was taking too long. This land is where he is now buried.