3 Farmers Commit Suicide within 8 Days in Odisha

Twenty-six-year-old Paramananda Lahajal, a farmer from Gambhariguda village in Kalahandi district of Odisha, committed suicide by consuming poison on the morning of October 25. This was triggered by failure of his crop, which left him unable to repay the loan of Rs 35,000 that he had taken by mortgaging his wife’s ornaments. He cultivated paddy on four acres of land, which he used on a sharing basis with two other villagers. A relative of Paramananda said that “his crops were damaged due to shortage of rainfall, forcing him to take the extreme step”.
 

Earlier this week, on October 26, another farmer from Nialipali village of Sundargarh district, Purnachandra Seth, killed himself, also by consuming poison soon after returning from his farmland on the morning. He had cultivated paddy on eight acres of land, out of which five acres were being used on a sharecropping basis with another villager. He had been suffering from depression ever since he faced crop loss, and due to his inability to repay the loans he had taken from various self-help groups and money lenders.
 

On October 18, 30-year-old Goutam Seth, a farmer from Panchaphut village in Sambalpur district, killed himself by consuming pesticides kept at home. He couldn’t bear to witness his standing crop cultivated on 12 acres of land getting damaged by the lack of water. His family members reportedly saw him writhing in pain and vomiting blood, and took him to the hospital, but he died during the treatment. He had taken loans for his father’s treatment, who is suffering from tuberculosis, and had planned to repay the amount after harvesting the crop. However, his crops began to wither because of lack of rain. He had allegedly approached the irrigation department, and the sub divisional officer (SDO) seeking help, but to no avail. “We tried to approach the SDO, and pleaded for help. But, no one helped us. So, my son took his life,” said Goutam’s father, Baisakhu Seth.
 

Suicides in farming sector have doubled in Odisha between the years 2015 and 2016. According to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report, 50 agricultural workers and farmers committed suicide in Odisha. In 2016, the number had increased to 121, as cited by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare while submitting a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The data on farmer suicides for the years 2016 and 2017 have not yet been published on the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) website. The last available data is for the year 2015.
 

Farmers have been taking to the streets, demanding adequate support price, prestige, and pension from the government. However, the government has been in denial. In the last two years, none of the suicides in the agricultural sector have been officially attributed to bankruptcy or indebtedness caused by crop failure or distress sale, even though both of these have been very significant factors. Most of the suicides have been attributed to drug abuse/alcohol addiction, family problems, marital issues and illnesses.
 

In 2017, a chronic pest attack, drought conditions, and unseasonal rains led to loss of crop across 29 districts in Odisha. A farmer from Kalapani village in Bargarh district, Brunda Sahu, killed himself by consuming pesticide after setting his pest-infested field on fire. It was followed by more farmers killing themselves, burdened by the loans they had taken to cultivate their fields.

The farmers keep taking their lives, unable to bear the burdens of loans, crop failure, and low prices of their produce. However, the government continues to turn a blind eye.