Four farmers on Saturday committed suicide in Nuapada, Balangir, Jajpur and Dhenkanal districts due to crop loss and also being unable to bear the burden of loan taken for cultivation.
Sadhu Nial (40), a small farmer of Komna town in Nuapada district, committed suicide on Friday evening by hanging himself from the roof of his house. It is the fourth case of farmer suicide in the district this year.
Sadhu’s father Amgad Nial belonged to Charpani village of Turekela block in Balangir district. Angand migrated to Nuapada district in 1965 and settled in Komna in a small piece of Government land. The family has three acres of ancestral land at Charpani, which brings 20 quintals of paddy every year. “This year, the yield was only two quintals which was given as wage to the labourers engaged in harvesting,” said Sadhu’s wife Urmila.
Sadhu had taken a hand loan of Rs15,000 from a moneylender. In addition, Urmila also took a loan of Rs30,000 from the Rajguru SHG. “He became worried about repayment of the loans as the crop failed and must have taken the harsh decision to end his life,” added Urmila.
Sadhu was the sole earning member of the family. The burden of managing the family with two children and old parents has now fallen upon Urmila.
In Dhenkanal district, Bhramarbara Naik of Ostapur village in Odapada block ended his life by consuming poison while Sadhu laguri of Garania village in Sukinda block in Jajpur district also took the extreme step being unable to bear the crop loss due to scanty rainfall and loan burden.
In Balangir too, a distressed farmer identified as laxmidhar Putel of Belpada committed suicide by consuming pesticides. Family members said he was in mental stress due to the crop damage and loan.
Meanwhile, concerned district administration officials started investigation to ascertain the exact reasons of the deaths.