The Human Rights Forum (HRF), Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) and BC Welfare Association (BCWA) call on the Andhra Pradesh government to implement G.O. No. MS. 43 immediately and ensure that the family of Balleda Narasimha Murthy (58), a farmer of Peddhakhojiria village in Kanchili mandal in the Uddhanam region of Srikakulam district, be financially compensated.
Murthy committed suicide on April 9 this year following severe distress caused by increasing debts incurred because of successive crop failure. The government must, without further delay, implement G.O. 43 that provides for a financial (Rs seven lakh) and rehabilitation package to the families of farmers who have taken their own lives.
A six-member HRF, RSV and BCWA team visited Peddhakojiria in Kanchili mandal on Friday (16-5-2025) and spoke with Neelaveni, the wife of the deceased farmer and their son Praveen. We also interacted with local farmers and residents of Makarampuram village about the ongoing agrarian crisis that continues to unfold in the Uddhanam region
Narasimha Murthy cultivated cashew and coconut on one acre of his own land and leased an additional eight acres for which he paid the lease amount in advance. Denied access to adequate institutional credit, he was forced to borrow from private sources at high interest rates to cover farm-related expenses. Following several years of scanty rainfall coupled with his coconut crop being ravaged by pest, he was pushed into deep debt. Expectedly, he was under regular and persistent pressure from money-lenders demanding repayment. Driven to utter despair as he was unable to provide for his family and escape an ever-spiralling cycle of indebtedness, he committed suicide by ingesting pesticide on April 9.
Administrative response to this tragedy has been appalling. Though over five weeks have gone by since Murthy passed away, the three-member divisional verification committee headed by the RDO has not even bothered to visit Peddhakhojiria and conduct inquiry. G.O. 43 mandates that the RDO-led committee visit the village, elicit relevant details and forward proposal to the Collector within a week of the suicide. Even the three-member MRO-headed committee has not gone to the village and spoken to the family members, only the deputy tahsildar had visited. In effect, the family has received no assistance, financial or otherwise, from the government. This manner of negligence defeats the very purpose of G.O. 43. That this neglect is taking place in the home district of the State’s Agriculture Minister is a matter of grave concern and raises questions about the government’s commitment to its own policies.
Coconut plantations across the Uddhanam mandals have been blighted by an uncontrolled spread of the whitefly (Rugose Spiralling Whitefly (RSW). There has been very little or no governmental intervention to address this pest infestation. Farmers in the area rely heavily on this crop and losses here has pushed them into acute deprivation.
Murthy’s death is not an isolated incident but is part of a disturbing pattern of farm distress in the region. Over the past year, there have been five farm suicides in the North Andhra districts. Not a single family has been rendered assistance under G.O 43. Unlike Rayalaseema and most other parts of the State where suicides occur with tragic regularity, historically North Andhra has seen fewer such deaths. However, a deeper agrarian crisis seems to be enveloping the area.
We demand that the three-member divisional level committee abandon its apathy and visit Peddhakhojiria at the earliest, conduct proper inquiry and ensure that justice is done to Narasimha Murthy’s family as laid out in G.O. 43. Without further delay, the family must receive the compensation and rehabilitation support they are entitled to.
HRF, RSV and BCWA functionaries who participated in the fact-finding:
G Balu – RSV State co-convenor
B Dhilli Rao – BCWA State general secretary
KV Jagannadha Rao – HRF State president
K Anuradha – HRF Publications editor
K Venkat Rao – HRF Srikakulam district EC member
VS Krishna – HRF AP&TG Coordination Committee member
18-5-2025,
Visakhapatnam.