Post News Network
Parla/Jharsuguda, Oct 18: In separate incidents, two more farmers committed suicide reportedly over crop loss and debt burden in Kalahandi and Jharsuguda districts.
In the first incident, Bira Majhi (55), a small and marginal farmer of Dhanrpur village under Dharmagarh tehsil in Kalahandi, committed suicide by hanging from a tree on his farmland Sunday.
On being informed, his family members rushed to the spot. Police
sent the body for post-mortem and started an investigation.
His widow Reman claimed debt burden and crop loss were the reason behind the incident. Sources said Majhi was earning his livelihood through cultivation on two acre of ancestral land which he had inherited. He had borrowed heavily from various sources for the marriage of his two daughters and raising the crops. However, the crop loss shattered his dreams and perhaps forced him to take the extreme step, villagers said.
Majhi had even sent his two sons to work as migrant labourers to add to the family income. He was planning to pay back the loan with the money sent by his sons and the earning from his harvest, but his crops withered due to insufficient rainfall.
When contacted, sarpanch Janaki Jued termed the incident as unfortunate and a reflection of the acute drought situation prevailing in the area.
However, tehsildar Jaykrushna Patra expressed his ignorance on the development but assured to order a probe to ascertain the truth.
In the second incident, Sashi Kishan (33) of Dunguripada village under Kolabira block in Jharsuguda district committed suicide Saturday evening. He ended his life by tying a napkin around his neck in the absence of his family members.
Kishan was reportedly under
stress after suffering crop loss over his two acre of land. He had borrowed loans to raise the crops.
He had fought with his wife for the reason twice which further plunged him into depression. Tehsildar Leena Kumari Khes Sunday met the bereaved family and conducted a probe.