A day before the ruling BJD’s scheduled Chasi Samavesh (farmers’ rally) at Sohela in Baragarh district on Thursday to highlight its schemes for the welfare the farmers’ community, another peasant of the State committed suicide due to crop loss and heavy debt burden late on Tuesday night.
Ranjan Sahu of Rantalai village in Angul district had cultivated paddy in two acres of land as a sharecropper. He had taken a total loan of `2.5 lakh from various sources, including bank and private moneylenders, for agriculture purpose and family use, sources said.
As the crops were destroyed owing to scanty rainfall, he was under deep mental stress for last few days. Unable to bear the stress, he killed himself on Tuesday night by hanging from a rope, said the deceased’s wife.
“He was under severemental stress for crop loss. He committed suicide by hanging himself after he could not refund the loan,” she said.
Not a day goes without reports of farmer suicide in the State and the toll has, meanwhile, reached more than 80.
On Thursday, the BJD would hold its Chasi Samavesh at Sohela which would be addressed by Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik and a large number of ruling party MPs and MlAs.