Berhampur (Odisha), Nov 1 (PTI) A 51-year-old farmer allegedly ended his life in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Sunday by drinking pesticides, with his family claiming that crop damage due to heavy rains brought by Cyclone Arnab forced him to take the extreme step.
Agriculture and revenue officials visited his house to inquire about the cause of his death.
Ganjam’s Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Sachhidanand Nayak said, “A joint inquiry will be conducted. We are waiting for the post-mortem report. The exact cause of his death will be known only after completion of the inquiry.”
The deceased was identified as Arjun Panda of Panasapadar village under Sheragada block of Ganjam district, worst affected by heavy rain under the influence of Cyclone Arnab.
Sunil Kumar Panda said his father was found unconscious in his cowshed on Saturday night and rushed to the Hinjili hospital. Later, he was referred to MKCG Medical College and Hospital here in critical condition, where he died during treatment, hospital sources said.
Sunil claimed his father consumed pesticide after seeing that the paddy crop, which was nearing harvest, was submerged by floodwaters and that the damage to his other crops was beyond recovery.
“He consumed pesticides after seeing the damage to standing crops. Besides, several household articles were also damaged when the floodwater entered his home,” Sunil said.
The ADM and Manoranjan Roul, the chief district agriculture officer, visited Panda’s home and later told reporters that paddy and vegetable crops were damaged in the rains.
BJD leader and former MP Chandra Sekhar Sahu said heavy crop loss coupled with the BJP government’s “apathy” in assisting the farmer might have led him to commit suicide.
He urged the state government to provide compensation to the farmers affected by the calamity. Sahu also demanded that Rs 10 lakh ex gratia be paid to the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, two of the 12 blackbucks rescued from the flood in Balia village have died, said Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sunny Khokkar.
“The rescued animals were provided immediate veterinary treatment as per the standard operating procedure. However, two female blackbucks died due to capture myopathy,” he said.
Ganjam district is the only habitat of blackbucks in the state. Their population was counted at 9,287 in the census held in February this year. PTI COR BBM BBM NSD
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