Award-winning farmer ends life over debt in Kerala

An award-winning farmer, Ambattu Elias, aged 62, has reportedly died by suicide in Kannur, Kerala. He allegedly consumed pesticide due to mounting financial debt. Elias cultivated vegetables on leased land for decades. This season, his income did not match the yield from 2,500 banana saplings. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital where he succumbed to his condition.