Balisankara (Sundargarh): A farmer ended his life by consuming poison as he reportedly failed to raise money to buy a bullock for ploughing after the death of a bullock at the farm. The incident occurred at Khampur village under Rampur panchayat near Talasara Friday. The deceased was Mangulu Naik, 55.
“He was under stress. He could not afford to buy a bullock to carry on with the ploughing operations. As farming was affected, he had no way to run the family,” a local said.
Naik owned a two-acre plot where he cultivated paddy and vegetables to earn a living. With much difficulty, he had bought two bullocks to plough the land. Everything was fine until one of the bullocks died a few days ago. This affected his farming and put him under stress.
Police said he consumed poison Tuesday. Family members rushed him to the Subdega government hospital. After preliminary treatment, he was shifted to the Sundargarh district hospital. The death occurred there Friday morning.
The incident highlights the scenario of farmer distress in the region. Farming is proving to be non-remunerative, farmers are caught in loans and debts, crops fail often due to reasons of natural or other calamities, and there is extreme poverty in the homes of farmers. Locals sympathised with Naik as he is too poor.
They pleaded for compensation to the family. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and two sons who work as migrant labourers. The family is also struggling to find means to marry off the daughter.
