BARGARH:Another debt-ridden farmer identified as Arjun Satnami (60) of Karla village under Ambabhona block in the district allegedly committed suicide on Sunday.As per reports, Arjun came to his house after consuming pesticide late on Saturday. He was rushed to District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), Bargarh early on Sunday after the family members came to know that Arjun had consumed poison. He was admitted to the DHH in a critical condition. But he succumbed while undergoing treatment at the DHH.
Arjun had grown paddy over five acres of land. He owned two acres of land while he had taken three acres of land on lease. He had also taken loan of `60,000 in the name of his son from cooperative society and private loan of `30,000 for paddy cultivation.
However, the kharif paddy crop got damaged due to scanty rainfall with monsoon playing truant this year. The farmers of the block depend on monsoon for cultivation.Alekmati Satnami, wife of the deceased farmer, said Arjun was mentally stressed due to crop loss and loan burden. She also said private money lenders were frequently coming to their house to collect their money.
Ambabhona tehsildar Sahadev Samadhiaa went to the house of the deceased farmer to take stock of the situation. Samadhiaa said he failed to interact with the family members as they had not come from Bargarh. However, he will visit the deceased farmer’s house again on Monday. The exact reason behind the incident could be ascertained only after inquiry, he said. The tehsildar said the family will be provided `10,000 from Red Cross Fund besides `2,000 under Harishchandra Yojana for the last rites. With the death of Arjun, the number of farmer suicide cases in the district rose to 10 in last one and a half months.