A farmer of Salikota village under Arunha GP of Jaleswar block in Baleswar district on Tuesday allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide fearing loss of paddy crops that he had cultivated in a four-acre patch in this Kharif season . A pesticide bottle was found near his body.The deceased was identified as Laxminarayan Jena. His son alleged that his father had borrowed Rs 1 lakh from various sources including hand loans for undertaking the paddy cultivation. Earlier the crop suffered damages due to torrential rains. Later, he was disturbed due to pest attacks.
Fearing that the loss would be huge and he won’t be able to rerepay the loans, he took the extreme step.They also alleged that despite their complaints to the local Agriculture Officer regarding the pest menace, the authorities didn’t pay any heed. Locals demanded action against the concerned official.