Bolangir: Amid a below-normal monsoon hitting agricultural activities in the State this season, a farmer today allegedly took his own life after suffering crop loss due to deficit rainfall.
According to sources, Bhaktabandhu Dandasena, a native of Barkani village under Sadar police limits of Bolangir district allegedly consumed poison in his house late last night. He was immediately rushed to Bolangir district headquarters hospital and later shifted to Burla Medical College and Hospital as his health continued to deteriorate. However, he breathed his last while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
His family sources claimed that Dandasena had committed suicide as he suffered a mental breakdown following loss of crops on his 4-acre land. Deficient rainfall this season, they alleged is the main reason behind the crop loss that forced him to take the extreme step.
"We had sown paddy on our farmland but due to inadequate rains, my husband was worried because he could not begin the agrarian works on the parched fields," said the deceased's wife.
Meanwhile, informed about the death of the farmer, the district deputy director of agriculture reached the village to probe into the incident.