Debt-ridden farmer ends life in Kannur

KOTTIYUR(KANNUR): Yet another farmer, caught in a debt-trap as jumbos ran roughshod over his crops, committed suicide in the wee hours of Tuesday.The body of the farmer, Pottayil Joseph, 56, of Palchuram near Kottiyur was found hanging from a tree near his house.Joseph was making a living cultivating two acres of land owned by him near his house. Wild elephants descending on the cultivated land had always been a threat to his livelihood.Most of his crops were destroyed by the elephants and the hapless farmer landed in a debt-trap following the loss suffered by him. According to the local people,  Joseph was forced to take his own life as he found no means to repay the loans taken by him.