UMERKOTE: A 45-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide due to crop loss and debt burden in Nabarangpur’s Raighar block on Monday. He was identified as Bhibhuti Sarkar of Chatabeda village. The farmer’s vegetable crop was damaged in the recent untimely rains.
Sources said Bibhuti had cultivated cauliflower over one acre of farmland. For this, he had borrowed Rs 3 lakh from local money lenders. His family members said a major portion of the cauliflower crop was damaged due to the unseasonal rains. The rest was damaged in blister disease.
“Every month, Bibhuti was paying Rs 13,000 to money lenders. After the damage to his crop just before harvest, he was mentally distressed over repayment of the loan,” said the deceased farmer’s relative Palas Biswas. In the morning, Bibhuti went to his field like everyday. But when he didn’t return, family members went to the farmland and saw him hanging from a mango tree. On being informed, police reached the spot and seized the body for autopsy.
Raighar IIC Tankagiri Bhoi said preliminary investigation revealed that mental duress caused by debt burden and crop loss led Bibhuti to take the extreme step. After postmortem, the farmer’s body was handed over to his family. An unnatural death case has been registered and further investigation is on. Contacted, Raighar agriculture officer Manoj Kumar Dey said he was not aware of the incident. “Appropriate action will be taken after the agriculture office receives any report of farmer suicide,” he added.
Local farmer leader Sudarsan Majhi alleged that farmers are not getting seeds and fertilisers from government counters in time. In such a situation, farmers are forced to depend on private money lenders. “If the crop is good, all is fine. But if the crop fails, a farmer has no other option but to commit suicide under the debt burden,” he said.
Earlier, farm activities were affected due to less rain. Now, the untimely rains have broken the backbone of many farmers. If the government doesn’t come forward with necessary assistance, more farmers are likely to take the extreme step in coming days, Majhi added. Bibhuti is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm).