Another case of farmer suicide has been reported in Karnataka and this time, it was in Belawadi village located in Hassan district’s Arkalagudu taluk.

Fifty-year-old Tayamma, who owned a 6-acre plot in Belawadi consumed poison on Sunday night.

“We had a village fair on Sunday and Tayamma had gone to the temple in the evening. She returned home and her sons went back to Hassan. We spoke about the fair before she went inside her house. I don’t remember the time but later that night, I went to her house to ask her about the crop issue as we all face the same problem. I went inside as the door was open and found her in the living room. She was not moving. I enlisted the help of our neighbours and we took her to the hospital,” said Nanjegowda, Tayamma’s neighbour.

Tayamma died in the wee hours of Monday morning. According to the Hassan police, Tayamma had taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh from Vijaya Bank. She had also sold her gold jewellery for her farm.

“Tayamma grew ginger and corn in her 6-acre plot. Due to water shortage, her crops died and she was unable to repay the loan. She had already received two notices from the bank. She consumed the pesticide she had bought for the crops and the doctors could not save her. Her husband, Girigowda, had died a few years ago and there was no other source of income. A case of farmer suicide has been registered,” Hassan SP said.

This is the fourth farmer suicide in five weeks in Karnataka. In Belakeri village of Haveri district’s Byadagi talku, 40-year-old Eeranna Gowda committed suicide on February 8.

Eeranna, who owns a six-acre plot had obtained a loan of Rs 20 lakh for growing maize and cotton. The failure of the monsoon led him to take the drastic step.

In Hassan district’s Beluru taluk, Rudra Gowda, a 58-year-old farmer, consumed poison on February 7. Rudra Gowda and his family live in Sankenahalli. He had obtained loans worth Rs 7 lakh both from the bank and from private moneylenders. He was unable to repay the loan as his paddy crop failed due to water shortage.

The fourth suicide victim, Madhu Kumar, was just 23 years old. He owned a 1.5-acre plot in Mandya’s district’s Kabbare village, where he cultivated paddy.

He had obtained a loan of Rs 2.5 lakh from a bank to install a bore well. There was no water found at the spot where the bore well was dug in Madhu Kumar’s plot. He was unable to repay the loan and consumed poison on February 7.