Bhadrak: A farmer fell seriously ill after consuming poison in a bid to commit suicide due to non-procurement of his paddy by the Self Help Group at Bandha Gaan panchayat in the district on Saturday.
Ramakrushna Panda, a farmer of Panchapada under Bandha Gaan Gramp Panchayat had been issued token to sell his paddy. He had sold 50 quintals of paddy while over 250 quintals more were to be sold. Panda said that he had requested the Rameswar Self Help Group, which was entrusted with the task of paddy procurement, several times to procure his produce, but to no avail.
Frustrated over non-procurement of his grain, Panda consumed poison in front of the office of Bandha Gaan panchayat.
He has been admitted to district headquarters hospital.
Ramakrushna said "I had 320 quintal paddy out of which only 50 quintal had been procured. They had lifted paddy of others but didn't paid any heed to my request even though I have a valid token. Under severe mental stress, I was forced to take such decision."
On the other hand, Ramakrushna's father Radhakant Panda alleged that the SHG had deliberately tortured his son.
"My daughter had staged a dharna a few days ago demanding replacement of the SGH due to irregularities in paddy procurement. The district administration had assured her to fulfil her demand within a month. Even as three months have passed, no decision has been taken yet on the replacement of the SHG," Radhakant said.
"As we tried to expose the irregularities, they deliberately didn't procure my son's paddy leading to his mental agony,” he added.
District Supply Officer Ranjan Seth said "We are dealing with every problem of the farmers. In the case of Ramakrushna, the SHG said that his token had lapsed. We are conducting an inquiry to find out the exact reason of his paddy lyimg unsold."