Jagatsinghpur: One more farmer allegedly ended his life in Odisha, taking the total deaths due to crop loss in unseasonal rains to 6 in a week.
. He has been identified as Krutibas Swain of Sarena village under Balikuda police limits in Jagatsinghpur district.
According to sources, Swain visited his paddy field with his brother on Monday and was devastated to see his ready-to-harvest paddy crop almost damaged by the unseasonal rains. Shattered by the crop loss and subsequent financial crisis, Swain returned home in the evening and locked himself up in a room.
When he did not come out for dinner from his room, his family members knocked on the door but it elicited no response. They became anxious and broke open the door with the help of neighbours only to find him hanging from the ceiling.
He was immediately brought down and rushed to a nearby hospital, where the doctors declared him ‘brought dead’, sources added.
The bereaved family members alleged that Swain took the extreme step owing the extensive crop damage. They have demanded an inquiry into the incident and subsequent financial compensation towards crop loss, as they have no other source of income.
The unseasonal rain from December 20 to 26 has severely affected harvested and ready-to-harvest paddy crops across several districts, with Ganjam being the worst hit.
It can be recalled earlier five more farmers allegedly died this month unable to bear the crop loss due to the unseasonal rains.
On Wednesday, a farmer in Kendrapada district suffered a fatal heart attack after witnessing the destruction of their crops.. On Thursday morning, a farmer from Badamadhapur Barang village in Chhatrapur block, who had cultivated crops on five acres of land after taking a loan of Rs 2 lakh, reportedly died by suicide unable to cope with the losses. Later that day, a 69-year-old paddy farmer died of a heart attack in Jagatsinghpur district apparently distressed over damage to his harvest-ready crops. On Friday, another farmer of Jajpur district, suffered a cardiac arrest after discovering his paddy crop was submerged in rainwater. Daitari Jena (64) allegedly consumed pesticide at his home in Kendrapada district on Saturday.
An official confirmation on farmers’ death, however, is still awaited.
