Farmer suicide: Locals withdraw road blockade in Bargarh

Bargarh: The road blockade near Kalapani on NH-53 by locals demanding compensation for the kin of farmer Brunda Sahu who committed suicide on Wednesday, ended after the Bargarh district administration assured to provide financial assistance to the farmer’s family.

The road blockade was withdrawn in wee hours today after the administration promised to allot four decimal farmland, a house under the Biju Pucca Yojana and provide Rs 42,000 to the family of Sahu, who ended his life yesterday by consuming poison as his crops were damaged by pests. He had set his crops afire on Tuesday.

Bargarh collector, sub-collector and legislator Debesh Acharya reached the spot and pacified the agitating locals who were staging the road blockade by placing dead body of the farmer.

Meanwhile, the Bargarh MLA informed that Rs 63 crore financial assistance has been sanctioned for farmers in the district suffering from crop loss due to lack of irrigation facilities. Each farmer will get Rs 13,500 per hectare in case crop gets damaged, Acharya added.

Farmers in the region alleged that pesticide supplied to them by the government was of substandard quality which led to the damage of crops.

The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has instructed the Bargarh Collector and secretaries of Agriculture and Revenue departments to submit a report on the farmers’ suicide issue within three weeks.

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