BERHAMPUR: Unable to cope with the destruction of his crops, house and belongings in the floods triggered by cyclone Arnab, a 62-year-old farmer from Sheragada block in Ganjam district allegedly died by suicide on Sunday.
The deceased is Arjun Panda of Panasapadar Sahi in Bakilikana village under Dengapadar panchayat. He allegedly consumed pesticide at the cattle shed on Saturday evening. Hearing unusual noises from the cattle, family members rushed there and found him critically ill.
He was initially taken to a hospital at Hinjilicut and then referred to MKCGMCH at Berhampur but succumbed under treatment at wee hours on Sunday.
According to family members, Panda was deeply distressed after inspecting his devastated farmland. He had invested his savings in paddy cultivation and vegetable farming and hoped for a good harvest this year due to good monsoon rains. However, the flood induced by cyclone Arnab swept away his agricultural fields, destroying the standing crops and vegetable saplings.
Panda had cultivated paddy on 2.5 acres of his own land and another five acres taken on sharecropping basis. He had also raised vegetable saplings in some parts of the land.
Besides destroying the crops, the floodwaters deposited thick layer of sand across the farmland. His house and household belongings were also damaged. Stored fodder for his two cows was also washed away.
“My father suffered an agricultural loss of over Rs 5 lakh. He had put in all his savings in seeds, manure and other inputs. Unable to bear the loss, he took the extreme step,” his son Sunil said.
Panda is survived by his wife and two sons, one working as a driver and the other employed in Surat. Sheragada police recovered the body and after postmortem handed it over to the family for cremation.
As the news of the farmer’s death spread, a team of BJD leaders including former MP Chandrasekhar Sahu, former MLA Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik and Berhampur mayor Sanghamitra Dalai visited the hospital and met the bereaved family. The party has demanded immediate financial assistance and compensation for the family.
