By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : A day after another farmer, suspected to be under debt, committed suicide in Kerala, the government Tuesday said it would look into all aspects of the problem. This was the third farmer suicide in Wayanad district in the last one week.
Vergheese committed suicide Monday. According to his relatives, he was under a debt of Rs.5 lakh after his crop failed.
Agriculture Minister K.P. Mohanan said: “I have already asked the authorities to provide me full details of loans availed from banks by farmers in Wayanad.”
“We will seriously look into all the issues and act accordingly. The government will also look into what can be done to provide some solace to the families of those farmers who have taken their lives,” he said.
“It appears the dreaded scenario of the past is returning to Wayanad and this is because of the fall in prices of ginger and banana. It appears the schemes of the government are not reaching people. Something has to be done immediately,” said social activist A.L. Prabakaran.
Between 2001-06 Wayanad district saw close to 249 farmer suicides. At that time, the Congress was in power and the Left opposition blamed the government’s flawed policies for the suicides.