23, Oct 2015

Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy said he had asked for detailed reports from the collectors of both districts.
Written by Debabrata Mohanty | Bhubaneswar | Published:October 23, 2015 2:10 am
A week after the Odisha government announced a Rs 1,000-crore relief package for drought-hit farmers, another farmer took his own life after crop failure.
Bhubaneswar Behera, from Barpadar village under Nuapara’s Khariar block, reportedly hanged himself due to bad crop and financial distress.
Earlier, Behera had lost an acre-and-a-half of his land during construction of a canal and was supposed to get a compensation of Rs 10 lakh. Even as he waited for the compensation, the crop on the remaining two-and-half acres under his possession withered due to drought.
Another farmer — Judhistir Putel — was battling for his life in Bolangir after consuming pesticide. Patel was admitted to the Kantabanji government hospital on Wednesday. His crop ruined due to insufficient rain, Judhistir — who had sown paddy, vegetables on four acres and had borrowed Rs 80,000 for the season — was brought to the hospital in a critical condition.