Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur

Kundapur, Feb 17: In a third case of its kind in the taluk, a farmer committed suicide at Kollur here on Wednesday February 17 as he was unable to repay loans he had borrowed from a couple of banks.

Heriya Naik (48), a resident of Iyangar in Kerady here, allegedly consumed pesticide and killed himself.

It is learnt that Heriya owned approximately 2.3 acres of agricultural land in which he had cultivated a variety of crops. For this, he had taken a loan of Rs 1.5 lac from Vandse Agricultural Seva Cooperative Society and Rs 2 lac from Vandse branch of Syndicate Bank. He had also taken loans from other money lenders and altogether had a debt of Rs 4.5 lac, it is said.

He took the extreme step as he was unable to pay back all these loans.

Among Heriya's two sons and two daughters, one son passed away last year.

This was the third case of farmer suicide in Kundapur taluk. Last week, farmer C C Joseph of Jadkal had consumed pesticide to kill himself.

MLA Gopal Poojary visited the spot and expressed condolences. "This is a serious issue. Farmers should not lose hope for any reason whatsover. The state government is pro-farmer. Suicide is not a solution to problems. Farmers should have self-confidence," he said.