Loan burden claims life of yet another farmer in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bargarh, Aug 9:

A marginal farmer of Atabira block in Odisha’s Bargarh district, who drank poison two days back to end his life, breathed his last at the at the VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla on Friday night where he was admitted in a critical state.

The farmer took the extreme step reportedly after incessant rains destroyed his paddy crops, thus reducing his chances of repaying the loans he had incurred to almost nil.

Reports said Gokul Mirdha of Manapada village under Atabira block in Bargarh district had consumed pesticide following extreme depression.

Gokul was a marginal farmer with a meagre half acre of land of his own and used to cultivate others land as a share cropper to make both ends meet. He suffered heavy losses last year when cyclone Phailin  damaged the crops on six acres of land he had cultivated  as a share cropper.

Although he was reeling under the burden of loans taken from money lenders, he had to borrow money again this year. This time he had undertaken cultivation of crops on three acres as share cropper in addition to his own land. However incessant rains destroyed the entire paddy crop, leaving him a shattered man, sources said.

Under tremendous pressure over the mounting loan burden, Gokul on Wednesday visited his field to have a final look at his damaged crops and chose to drink pesticide there itself, reports said.

He was rushed to VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla in a critical condition where he died on Friday evening.