Four more farmer suicides were reported on Thursday in the State. Around 60 farmers have committed suicides due to crop loss and debt in the last two months.
The SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack, recorded three more deaths of farmers in the last 24 hours, taking the farmers’ suicide toll to five in the hospital during the past four days. Two more farmers are still battling for life in the hospital after they were brought here in critical condition of poisoning.
“Since all these farmers had consumed organo-phosphorus poisons (pesticides) in empty stomach, it was difficult to save them despite all our efforts,” said a treating doctor, adding that most of them are received here in very critical condition.
The condition of one Sanjay Pradhan brought from Athagarh on Thursday afternoon after consuming pesticide is stated to be very critical, the doctor said.
The farmers who died while undergoing treatment during the past 24 hours were one each from Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts. All three were brought here in critical condition after they consumed pesticides on different days. Two more farmers had died here in similar situations on Monday.
Rabindra Muduli (60) of Balikuda in Jagatsinghpur died on early Thursday morning while Rabindra Mahali of Mahakalpada in Kendrapada district and Bhagban Sahu of Choudwar in Cuttack district succumbed in the afternoon.
And one more farmer committed suicide at Thakurpani village under Komna block in Nuapada district on a day when Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy visited the district to assess the crop loss caused due to drought. The deceased laxman Gouda ended his life by hanging himself from a tree in his crop field.