Woman farmer attempts suicide in Soro over crop damage

Soro: Distressed over damages to crop due to pest attack, a woman farmer attempted suicide on Thursday night by consuming poison in Gojadihara village in Soro, Balasore district.

The farmer, identified as Saraswati Patra, became critical after consuming poison and was admitted to the Soro Community Health Centre (CHC) by locals.

She was in distress after her paddy harvest was damaged due to repeated pest attack. Apart from this, a loan of Rs 30,000 which she had taken for agricultural purposes added to her woes.

Meanwhile, the Bargarh district collector will submit a report on farmer Brunda Sahu suicide today.

A team of local tehsildar, agriculture official and police undertook a joint field visit yesterday and met family members of Brunda Sahu. Later, the team submitted a report to the Bargarh district collector last evening.

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Earlier this week, farmers from Sambalpur and Bargarh districts set their crops afire.

Similarly, a farmer of Gajilguda village near Gunupur in Rayagada district yesterday set damaged crops in his eight acre farm land on fire. In Ganjam, farmers of Limakudia too set their pest-infested crops on fire.

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A three-member technical team of the Agriculture Department yesterday raided a pesticide shop in Bargarh town as farmers complained that the pesticide they bought from the market or the ones supplied to them by the Cooperation Department were of inferior quality.

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