Kendrapada: Two farmers allegedly consumed poison during a public grievance hearing in Odisha’s Kendrapada district Monday, protesting what they claimed was official inaction over crop losses caused by illegal prawn farming, police said.
The incident took place when district collector Raghuram R Iyer was hearing grievances of residents of Rajnagar tehsil.
The farmers, identified as Ganesh Chandra Mandal of Talchua and Ramkrushna Mandal of Dholamara village, were immediately taken for medical treatment after the incident, police said.
The duo had approached authorities several times, alleging that water discharged from prawn farms was entering adjoining agricultural fields, damaging crops and reducing farm yields.
“We ran from pillar to post, from the collector to the divisional forest officer, seeking redressal of our grievances. But all our efforts proved futile,” one of the farmers said.
The farmers also alleged that no action had been taken against prawn cultivators despite their complaints.
District Collector Iyer said the grievances raised by the farmers were being examined and would be addressed on a priority basis.
