Karnataka Farmer Declared Dead on Paper Fights Bureaucracy to Prove He's Alive

• Irappa Nagappa Abbai, a 53-year-old farmer from Sutagatti village, Belagavi district, was erroneously declared deceased in government records in July 2021.
• The error occurred during his son's death certificate issuance, where a village accountant mistakenly registered Irappa as dead.
• He discovered his 'death' in 2025 when applying for a government drip irrigation scheme, which offers a subsidy of up to Rs 3 lakh.
• For five months, Irappa has been traveling between Murgod Nada Kacheri and Savadatti tahsildar’s office, struggling to correct the error.
• Savadatti tahsildar Mallikarjun Heggannavar has intervened, initiated a departmental inquiry, and expects the correction within 20 days.

Why It Matters: A Karnataka farmer's four-year bureaucratic battle to prove he's alive highlights critical flaws in government records.