The agitation over the Mallana Sagar irrigation project has claimed the life of a distressed farmer from Etigadda-Kishtapur village in Medak district of Telangana.

The 29-year-old farmer Nayini Karunakar, committed suicide as he was afraid of losing his agricultural land if the project became a reality.

On the night of June 1, he immolated himself by pouring kerosene. He was immediately shifted to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad but was declared dead in the early hours on Monday morning.

Karnunakar was the sole earning member in the family and leaves behind his wife Bharathi (24), two daughters Teja (7), Kavya (4) and his father Yadaiah (60).

Karunakar reportedly had an argument with his wife over the project on the night that he killed himself.

The government’s sanction for construction of the Mallana Sagar reservoir as part of an irrigation project is likely to leave fourteen villages in Medak district, without power. As hydel power is the main source of electricity and because a large amount of water would be diverted for the project, electricity supply to these villages is bound to be adversely affected.

More than 20,000 acres of land will be acquired for the project and some of the affected villages include Etigadda-Kishtapur, Vemulghat, Pallepahad, Singaram, Erravalli. Out of the fourteen villages that will be impacted, six come under Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s constituency.

Villagers and farmers have been on a relay hunger strike for the past eight days.

Also Read: Why villages in this Telangana district are up in arms over a proposed irrigation project