JAGATSINGHPUR: The suicide conundrum in the State seems to have travelled from farmland to industries. Be it farmers or workers, lack of economic security has forced them and their families to take the extreme step. In the latest instance, a 35-year-old dalit widow committed suicide along with her three children after being unable to bear the pangs of poverty. Mamina Sethy of Kujang in the district was managing her family with paltry income of her husband Anant Sethy, a contractual worker in Iffco. But in a turn of misfortune, Anant died in an accident on April 3.
With nobody to turn to, Mamina was looking forward to the compensation of `3.5 lakh promised by Iffco. As the days passed by, Mamina found it a gruelling task to feed her two daughters and a son in the age group of one to 8 years. Even as the promised compensation remained elusive for more than a month after the death of her husband, there were no means for Mamina to make an earning. Finally, she decided to end the lives of her family instead of going through the slow death everyday.
On Thursday morning, she took her children to the Mahanadi and jumped into the river. When the locals found the bodies floating in the river in the afternoon, they informed police. Later, Kujang police along with fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and fished out the bodies from Sanischar Gada of the river. Autopsy was conducted at Kujang hospital.
Locals said though IFFCO had released the compensation amount of `3.5 lakh last week, she failed to get it from the bank concerned. Similarly, no widow pension and benefits under rural housing scheme were given to her, they alleged. Kujang Sarpanch Bharat Bhusan Nayak said after Anant’s death, process was on to include Mamina in widow pension and housing schemes. Kujang Tehsildar Ramesh Chandra Panda said IFFCO has already released compensation amount of `3.5 lakh, but pension was not given to the widow after her husband’s death. Kujang police is investigating the case.