A debt-ridden coffee grower from Chikkamagaluru has made a desperate plea for euthanasia after his farmland was auctioned off under the SARFAESI Act, leaving him and his wife destitute.
Dr. Vijaya and his spouse H.N. Parvathi, residents of Kelluru village, submitted a mercy-killing request to the President of India through the local tahsildar, Rajshekhar. The couple had taken substantial agricultural loans—Rs 25.9 lakh by Vijaya for his 4-acre plantation (Survey No. 40/2) and Rs 6 lakh by Parvathi for her 3.39-acre land (Survey No. 40/1).
Their inability to repay was driven by repeated crop failures, declining coffee prices, adverse weather, the economic impact of COVID-19, and frequent destruction by wild animals. Despite repaying Rs 5.3 lakh in 2024 and being assured time by the bank, their farmland—estimated to be worth Rs 3 crore—was sold via online auction for just Rs 89.5 lakh.
“We are now left with nothing and no way to earn a living,” said a heartbroken Vijaya.
The Raitha Hitha Rakshana Vedike strongly criticized the bank’s action. Its president, B.K. Lakshman Kumar, expressed grave concern, stating this is the first instance in the district where a farmer has sought mercy killing due to the SARFAESI Act. He revealed that 2,700 farmers fall under SARFAESI distress in the district, with 2,300 still at risk of losing their land.
He appealed for urgent government intervention to safeguard farmers’ livelihoods.