SAMBALPUR: A 57-year-old farmer allegedly took his own life due to distress over crop loss at Bairagipali village in Jujumura block here on Saturday. The farmer, identified as Ratnakar Bhoi, took the extreme step by consuming pesticide.
Sources said Ratnakar had grown paddy over two acre of land. He was expecting to harvest around 150 packets of paddy. However, due to unfavourable climatic condition including erratic rainfall, his hopes of a good harvest were dashed. Recently, the farmer harvested his crop and could only gather less than 50 packets of paddy from his land. Since then, Ratnakar was in a state of distress.
Family members said Ratnakar had taken a loan of Rs 70,000 from a private money lender to raise his crop. He also took a bank loan of Rs 35,000 for a power tiller. The farmer was expecting to pay off the loans after harvesting a good yield this kharif season.
Ratnakar’s daughter Debaki Bhoi said though her father sold his harvested produce, it was not enough to meet the debts and expenses. “He was depressed since the last few days. He was under severe pressure to repay the loans and manage the family at the same time,” she claimed.
On Sunday morning, Ratnakar reportedly told his family members that he was going to collect firewood. When he did not return home, family members became worried and searched for him. The farmer was later found dead in his field with a bottle of pesticide lying near his body. Former MLA and local BJD leader Rohit Pujari criticised the BJP-run state government over the incident. He said, “It is unfortunate that at a time when many farmers like Ratnakar are struggling to make ends meet after suffering crop loss, the BJP leaders are busy attending events as guests and making tall claims about their pro-farmer policies. The BJP government should be more concerned about the farm crisis and ensure that the farmers get immediate assistance for crop loss,” he added.
Despite repeated attempts, Sambalpur sub-collector Puspanjali Panda and Jujumura tehsildar Manoj Kujur could not be contacted for their comments on the issue.
(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, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)