Post News Network
Khadial, Oct 14: Two more farmers in western Orissa Tuesday committed suicide due to debt burden and crop loss induced by scanty rainfall this monsoon.
The deceased were Magashir Majhi (50), a physically challenged farmer of Tukurla village under Bhatli block of Bargarh and Dharamudhar Ana (35) of Khirmal village under Boden block of Nuapada district.
Despite losing his left hand in a mishap a few years back, Magashir used to support his eight-member family by farming in his 10 acres of land. According to his son Dushmanta, the crop was largely dependent on rain water. They suffered heavy loss due to poor rainfall this season. His father was under severe mental stress as he borrowed money from a bank, a cooperative society and private money lenders, Dushmanta said.
Magashir Tuesday consumed pesticides after returning from his farmland. The family rushed him to the district headquarters hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. He is survived by his wife, five sons, a daughter and an elderly mother.
As many as 13 farmers have allegedly committed suicide this season in Bargarh district alone.
Dharmudhar cultivated cotton and paddy in his seven acres of land. He mortgaged gold ornaments with money lenders to meet the farming expenses. He was under pressure due to scanty rainfall this monsoon and consumed pesticide Sunday.
The farmer was admitted to the Mission Hospital at Khadial where he succumbed Tuesday. The incident triggered an outrage on the hospital premises. BJP and Congress workers demanded Rs5 lakh as compensation for the kin of the deceased and a judicial probe into the incident by keeping the body on NH-353.
The blockade was withdrawn after the police arrived at the spot and assured the bereaved family all government aid including a house. Later, the agitators submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the BDO demanding that the district be declared as totally drought-affected.
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