Mallanna Sagar-affected farmer ends life

​Thoguta (Medak): A heart-wrenching incident has come to notice in Pallepahad village of Thoguta mandal, one of the 14 villages which may go under submergence as part of the proposed Mallanna Sagar reservoir, exposing the dire straits in which senior citizens in the affected villages have been living.

Bacchani Narasaiah (72) committed suicide on Wednesday night, just a day after Thoguta MRO informed the villagers of Vemulaghat and Pallepahad that he would be issuing a notification to acquire their lands as part of the proposed 50 tmc reservoir.

Narasaiah had no children, but had adopted his brother’s daughter, who has been married off, and lives with his wife Bojavva in the small house that he owns now. The family is extremely poor and owns just half an acre of land.

Ever since the reservoir was proposed, he has been actively taking part in the movement against land acquisition. He, along with many senior citizens in the affected villages, has been in severe stress because of the land acquisition, as people did not know what would happen to them once they gave away their lands.

Many fear that their own sons may not take care of them once they get the compensation and that is why senior citizens have been against the proposed reservoir. On Wednesday night, Narasaiah hanged himself at his home. Some neighbours, who saw the act, immediately rescued him and took him to Gajwel area hospital.

As his condition was serious, he was then shifted to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad where he breathed his last on Thursday morning. Even Bojavva is in severe distress as she does not know what she would do with the Rs 3 lakh she may get from the government as compensation being offered by the government.