Hundreds of BJP Krushak Morcha activists led by its leader Krushna Jagdeb on Sunday performed a mass dipadaan (burning of diyas) programme in front of the Shree Jagannath temple praying the lord to save the farmers from peril of suicide. Addressing a meeting on the occasion, Jagdeb said within a fortnight as many as 18 farmers committed suicide because of loss of paddy and fear of not being able to repay debt. More such reports are coming in quick succession, he added.
He attributed the reason for suicide of farmers to faulty agriculture policy of the Naveen Patnaik Government. The farmer leader demanded the Government to pay `10 lakh to the families of the deceased farmers who committed suicide and `20,000 per hectare tothe farmers whose crops were destroyed in drought.
This apart, farmers should be provided loans for the Rabi crops at one per cent interest, he demanded. He dismissed the concessions being announced by the State Government for the drought hit farmers as per the relief code which he dubbed as inadequate to meet the deteriorating condition of the poor farmers. Among others who addressed the meeting include Morcha State secretary Ajay Pradhan, district chief of BJP Pravanjan Mahapatra, Janmejay Jena, Debendranath Tarei and Biswanath Rath.