Belagavi: Yet another sugarcane farmer died due to the non-payment of dues by sugarcane factories. A debt-ridden Chinnappa Gangappa Amarapur (61) who had attempted suicide by consuming poison, breathed his last at the Civil Hospital in Veerpankopp village of Belagavi taluk on June 8.
According to sources, the deceased farmer Chinnappa was under a heavy financial burden. Reportedly, he had taken a loan of Rs 8 Lakh from Hirebagewadi branch of Bank of India and a Rs 2 Lakh loan from a cooperative society as an investment for agriculture and buying a tractor.
It is gathered that Chinnappa had not received a payment of Rs 1,30,000 from the Soubhagya Laxmi Sugar Factory in Hirenandi owned by Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi for the sugarcane sold this year. Similarly, Malaprabha Sugar Factory had not paid a bill of Rs 50,000 to him. It is also alleged that the factories have not paid his bills for the past two years.
The sources close to the family said that Chinnappa was depressed as he was unable to repay the loan due to the long delay in payments by the factories. Unable to tolerate the stress, he consumed pesticide on the morning of Thursday, June 7. Though family members shifted him to the hospital, he could not be saved. A case has been registered at Hirebagewadi Police Station regarding the incident.
