Farmer dies by suicide over delay in compensation by government
The farmer reportedly ended his life by jumping into a canal near Vaddarahalli on Monday, citing non-payment of compensation for his land
A 55-year-old farmer died allegedly by suicide in Belur taluk days after complaining about delays in receiving compensation for the land acquired by the government under the Yettinahole water project, officials familiar with the matter said, adding that no suicide note was recovered.
An official said that the farmer, from Shivapura Kavalu, reportedly ended his life by jumping into a canal near Vaddarahalli on Monday, citing non-payment of compensation for his land. Protests erupted immediately after the incident, with farmers refusing to allow the authorities to retrieve the body from the canal until their concerns were addressed.
Following assurances from the authorities, including the commitment to expedite compensation claims, the protesting farmers agreed to end their demonstration. The body of the deceased farmer, was then retrieved from the canal, the official said.
Shekhar Gowda, a member of the local gram panchayat, alleged corruption in the compensation process. “Land acquisition department officers are demanding bribes ranging from 20 to 30% to provide compensation to farmers,” he said while emphasising that the deceased farmer had not received compensation for over three years, “which contributed to his desperate decision”.
Former BJP minister B Shivaram visited the protest site on Monday to console the grieving farmers and criticised the government for its inefficiency in processing compensation claims.
Tahsildar M Mamatha, who also visited the site, assured the protesters that the deceased farmer’s application for compensation would be re-evaluated. She announced an interim relief of ₹2 lakh for the kin of the deceased. “The farmer lost 1.3 acres of land for the Yettinahole project in 2020,” she said.
She further said: “Forest officials claimed the land belongs to their department and that the farmer was an illegal encroacher. Although a decision has been taken at the government level to compensate farmers using such lands, the farmer took an extreme step before the issue could be resolved. He was entitled to ₹15.3 lakh in compensation, but no suicide note was found, so the exact reason for his death remains unclear.”
Maruti, sub-divisional magistrate of Hassan, saidd that the deceased farmer had not submitted the necessary documents for compensation. “The land in Shivapura Kavalu is classified as forest land, which has delayed compensation for many farmers in Shivapura and Aidalla Kavalu. However, we will recommend compensation for all eligible farmers under the project,” he said.