Baliguda/Maneswar: Another farmer tried to end his life by consuming pesticide over crop loss due to pest attack and low pressure-triggered rainfall at Katari village under Baliguda police limits in Kandhamal district.
Parsuram Mallick collapsed on farmland after consuming the pesticide. He, however, was rescued by his two sons and admitted to Baliguda sub-divisional hospital.
At hospital, the doctors administered him primary treatment and made him vomit before shifting him to the district headquarters hospital in Phulbani.
He had borrowed money for farming on his two acres and took land on lease from other villagers. He suffered crop loss when pests attacked his crops.
He had hardly recovered when rainfall delivered a blow to him. He was pushed into distress and became clueless on repayment of loan and managing his family after unseasonal rain destroyed his crops.
His sons Dushasan and Jayant claimed that their father took the extreme step worrying over repayment of loans and managing the family.
Meanwhile, the district administration in Sambalpur started a probe into the suicide of a farmer at Rasnupur village under Sadar police limits.
Farmer Kanhu Munda (55) committed suicide by consuming pesticide after his standing crops were destroyed in pest attacks, family members claimed.
He had borrowed Rs 30,000 and Rs 22,000 as group loans and hand loans from money lenders for cultivation on his one acre of farmland and two acres taken on lease.
Acting on the direction of collector Samarth Verma, tehsildar Nirmal Nayak, block agriculture officer Ramesh Chandra Patel, Sadar IIC Sujata Panda met the bereaved family in the village and interacted with them over the death.
Munda’s last rites were performed in the village cremation ground in the presence of the probe team. The team took stock of his destroyed farmland, seized the empty pesticide bottle and investigated the matter from various angles during the probe. The team members also verified the loan papers.
His widow Lakshmi claimed that Munda was the only earning member of the family and it will be difficult for them to survive in his absence. He took the extreme step after losing mental balance on repayment of loans following the crop loss, Lakshmi added. PNN