Two more incidents of farmer suicide have been reported from the western Odisha towns of Sambalpur and Balangir.
A farmer allegedly committed suicide at Jharajhari village under the Jujumura police limits in Sambalpur on Saturday. Sanatan Mirdha ended his life due to extensive damage to his crop. He committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope from a tree.
The 40-year old farmer had availed loans for crop cultivation and was under duress for some time over repayment of the debt, sources said. The exact amount of loan from financial institutions and moneylenders could not be ascertained.
Meanwhile, a case of unnatural death has been registered with the local police and Sanatan’s body was sent for post-mortem examination.
In a similar incident, a farmer from Patnagarh sub-division of Balangir district allegedly committed suicide due to debt burden. Bhakta Dharua ended his life as he was unable to repay the loans he had availed to buy a water pump.
As per family sources, he availed a loan of Rs 17,000 at an annual interest of 11 per cent to buy the pump for irrigation purpose. He was served notice by the lending bank when he defaulted on payment. Following this, he was under stress and committed suicide.
Notably, a farmer in Bargarh had allegedly committed suicide on Friday due to crop loss and loan burden. Hiralal Sahu from Dhinkimunda village in Paikmal block ended his life by consuming pesticide.
The 50-year old farmer owned around 20 acres of land and had cultivated paddy in the field. However, the crop was damaged due to insufficient rainfall and pest attack. When his repeated attempts to revive the crop failed, he resorted to the extreme step. He consumed pesticide in the field and vomited continuously on return to his home.
His family members rushed him to the Paikmal Primary Health Centre (PHC) for treatment where his abdomen was washed. However, he died a few hours later.
Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy on Saturday expressed his grief over the farmer suicides.
“Necessary steps would be taken after gathering facts (from departmental officers). I would meet the bereaved family members, if need be,” the Minister said.