Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Nov 4: The state government Tuesday confirmed 48 farmer suicides even as two more farmers committed suicide Monday night.
Speaking to media, ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb said the state government has received the death reports of 48 farmers so far while an inquiry is going on to ascertain the actual causes of their deaths.
While speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, Deb further stated that the state government would issue a white paper on the death of farmers.
However, speaking to this newspaper the ruling party spokesperson said it was a slip of tongue.
He, however, said the state government has received reports on farmer deaths from district collectors and would forward them to home department. If required, it would be presented in the house during Assembly session.
The spurt in farmer suicides has turned out to be a serious cause of concern for the state government which, even after declaring a drought package of Rs 1,000 crore, has not been able to deter farmers from taking the extreme step.
Two more death reports have been reported since Monday night. While Panaka Purti of Hatisingeda village in Dhenkanal district committed suicide by hanging Monday night, Kunja Hansa of Baijalpur in Kalahandi district hanged himself allegedly due to crop loss and debt burden, their family sources said.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have pooh-poohed the reports submitted by the district collectors dubbing them as faulty and erroneous.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Bolangir district Tuesday waved black flags to agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy during the latter’s visit to the district to assess drought situation.
