Five farmers died after committing suicide in Mandya, Kolar, Tumakuru, Ballari and Hassan districts on Tuesday.

A 45-year-old sugarcane farmer, who had been missing since 3 days, was found dead at his farmland at Aralakuppe of Pandavapura taluk in Mandya.

Mahendra alias Mayappa committed suicide by consuming pesticide, his family members told the police.

Mahendra had cultivated sugarcane on two acres and taken a gold loan of Rs. 50,000 from a bank and some people he knew. here were no buyers for his produce as activities at sugar mills and ‘aalamanes’ (traditional jaggery making units) have been suspended. The incident came to light after his family members started a search for him, Srirangapatna police said.

Police said that though he was missing since 3 days, no missing complaint was filed.

A farmer committed suicide in a village in Srinivaspur taluk in Kolar district.

Suresh had borrowed Rs. 4 lakh from moneylenders, which he could not repay. Adding to his troubles, a tube-well he dug had failed. Deputy Commissioner K.V. Thrilokchandra and tahsildar D. Vidyavathi visited house and consoled the bereaved family.

A 30-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by hanging his house in Honnegowdanadoddi of Kunigal taluk in Tumakuru district.

Raju (30), a resident of Honnegowdanadoddi village, had taken a loan of Rs. 50,000 from Kaveri Kalpataru bank and the amount had increased to Rs. 98,000 with interest. He had also taken Rs. 3 lakh from private moneylenders.

His father had three acres of land. One acre had been set aside for sericulture and ragi was grown on the remaining land.

Two days ago, private moneylenders told him to repay their loan in front of village residents at a tea shop. On learning of the incident, his wife and mother also urged him to repay the loan, leading to heated arguments in the house. A case has been registered in Huliyurdurga police station.

Another debt-ridden small farmer Agasara Mallaiah (50) committed suicide at his residence in Kappagal village in Ballari taluk on Monday night. This is the fourth incident in the past two months in Ballari district.

Mallaiah, who owned a two-acre piece of land, had availed a loan of Rs. 2 lakh, including Rs. 60,000 taken from a bank. The cotton crop he had cultivated had failed. He had also borrowed money for the marriages of three of his five children, according to his relatives.

The body was handed over to his family members after the post mortem examination. Deputy Commissioner Sameer Shukla and other officials met Mallaiah’s wife and handed over Rs. 21,000 as ex-gratia assistance under the social security scheme.

T.H. Suresh Babu, Kampli MLA, also visited the family. He gave Rs. 25,000 as a personal contribution to the bereaved family.

Aruna Thippareddy, former ZP president; and BJP leaders Yerangali Thimma Reddy and K. Ramalingappa accompanied him.

Deputy Commissioner Sameer Shukla, who paid a visit to Kappagal, warned of legal action against banks and private moneylenders trying to forcibly recover loans. indulging in forcible recovery of loans given to farmers.

A farmer, who attempted to commit suicide by consuming an insecticide on July 16, breathed his last here on Tuesday. Chandre Gowda (47), native of Javarikoplu in Holenarsipur taluk, was admitted to Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences in Hassan for treatment. He had consumed the insecticide he bought for the tobacco crop in his farm.

He has left behind wife, two sons and a daughter. Mr. Gowda had cultivated tobacco in three acres of his land and suffered crop loss due to poor rain. He had taken a loan of Rs. 4.5 lakh from Kaveri Grameena Bank’s branch at Doddakadanuru and had borrowed private loan.

Holenarsipur tahsildar S. Nagaraj, and Assistant Director of Agriculture Department Kokila met his family members later in the evening.