JEYPORE: Not able to come to terms with the complete loss of his crop in the recent rains, a grief-stricken farmer of Nakulguda village under B. Singhpur police limits of Koraput district allegedly died by suicide by consuming pesticide in his field.
The 60-year-old Dumar Harijan had reportedly cultivated paddy on three-acre land - one acre owned by him and two under share-cropping. He had borrowed Rs 70,000 from money-lenders to take up the cultivation. However, the entire crop was submerged as the nearby Telingi river gushed into his fields following the recent rains. Seeing the total destruction, he had gone into depression, family sources said.
On Sunday, he went to the field and allegedly took a drastic step. In the night, his family and relatives rushed him to Borrigumma CHC for treatment but he succumbed on Monday night during treatment.
The deceased farmer has seven family members and all depend on the agricultural income for their living.
His son Ramesh Harijan said,” My father was completely broken after seeing the loss of crop. He expressed an inability to pay off the loan amount and this desperation drove him to take the extreme step.” He appealed to the government to provide some relief to the family.