Mysuru: A debt-ridden tobacco grower died by suicide at his agricultural field at AG Koppalu in Periyapatna taluk on Thursday night. The incident came to light on Friday morning.Police said the deceased is 5iddegowda, 41. Upset over the fall in tobacco prices and mounting debt, the farmer took his life, according to the complaint filed by relatives of the deceased. The farmer borrowed more than Rs 10 lakh. The moneylenders demanded that the farmer clear the loan amount he borrowed, police said.Periyapatna police have registered a case. The steep fall in tobacco prices not only brought anxiety among growers in the region. The dip in sales followed a 40% hike in tax for cigarettes, leading to a crash in tobacco prices, as cigarette and other tobacco manufacturers were not coming forward to purchase tobacco grown by farmers in Mysuru regions, led to a crisis, farmer leaders said. The Tobacco Board also suspended tobacco auctions in Hunsur and Periyapatna following protests from tobacco growers over the steep fall in tobacco prices last week.
