Birmaharajpur: Bajendra Behera, 34, a cotton farmer of Ghichapali village under Luturpanka panchayat in Birmaharajpur block of Subarnapur district died Thursday morning after he was struck by lightning.
Bajendra went to his farmland to sow cotton seeds but collapsed on the field after a thunderbolt of lightning struck him. The other farmers took him to a hospital in Birmaharajpur where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The body would be handed over to the family after post-mortem.
Bajendra, son of Niranjan Behera, was youngest among five siblings. He had raised paddy in four acres of land and planned to grow cotton in another 15 acres. Bajendra was sowing cotton seeds with 50 farmhands when struck by thunderbolt.
Bajendra was known among the few skilled farmers in the panchayat as he used to apply modern method of farming in his profession.
While his sudden death shocked many in the area, locals demanded compensation for the bereaved family.
