Four members of a farmer's family committed suicide in Anantapur district due to crop failure and debt burden.

The farmer identified as Sanjivappa first administered poison to his wife, Shantamma, and two minor children -- Dhananjaya and Savitri -- at his house in Jakkepalli village near Madakasira town. Later, he also consumed poison.

Sanjivappa, who was cultivating four acres of land, had accumulated a debt of Rs 200,000 due to successive crop failures in the last few years. The groundnut crop sown by him this year also failed. When the moneylenders started pestering him for repayment, he decided to take the extreme step.

In a 13-month period from January 2002 to January 2003, as many as 231 farmers committed suicide in the state. Anantapur district accounted for 37 deaths during this period.