Desperate pleas of farmers pushed to the brink: Help us or allow us to kill ourselves. Six hundred farmers in the Chhatarpur block of the Palamu district of Jharkhand are taking this threat to the President through a petition.

Palamu has a history of droughts. The area is fertile, but has no irrigation system. This year has been particularly bad. The entire state has been declared drought hit.

Says villager Dhaneshwar Ram: "I have never seen such a drought. Either the government should help us, or we will be forced to commit suicide. Right now, no help is reaching us."

More than the lack of crops , it is the death of cattle in the area that has hit people hard. They depend on cattle not only to till their land, but also for essentials like milk.

Villagers says more than 100 cattle have died in Chattarpur in the last month alone.

Says farmer Ramswaroop: "My village has just 10 homes in every home, five cattle have died. It is the same situation everywhere, so you can imagine our plight.

And there's little help from the administration.

Says Palamu's Deputy Commissioner Amitabh Kaushal: "We have received information that such a thing has happened. We will look into it."

Words which are of little consolation to the farmers who say they may have little choice but to go ahead with their threat.