Congressmen block road over farmer's suicide

Description

KORAPUT: Traffic came to a standstill between Umerkote and Raighar in Nabarangapur district for several hours on Thursday following a road blockade by Congress workers near Sarguli Chhacka over the suicide of a farmer. Led by Nabrangapur MP Pradeep Majhi, the Congress workers had also laid the body of the deceased farmer Mrutanjay Dey of Sarguli on the road.

The agitators demanded Rs 20 lakh compensation to the farmer's family and immediate restoration of normal power supply in the area. They said Dey took the drastic step because he could not irrigate his land for low voltage. "Dey had cultivated maize, green chilly and cabbage over 100 acres of land by taking loans. He had dug two bore-wells but could not irrigate his crops for the past 12 days owing to low voltage in the area. Fearing crop loss, he ended his life," alleged Majhi.

Villagers had found Dey's body hanging from a tree in his field on Thursday morning. The deceased farmer leaves behind his wife and three daughters. According to the Congress MP, despite tall claims by the state government about improvement in power supply, Jharigaon, Chandahandi, Raighar and Umerkote blocks of the district reel under frequent power cuts and low voltage. "On several occasions people had agitated against this but to no avail," he said.

Collector (Nabarangapur) Yamini Sarangi said, "Preliminary inquiry reports reveal that the farmer's suicide is not related to agriculture. The farmer had a diesel pump set and there are two ponds near to his field. He could have irrigated his land. He might have committed suicide over some family related matter. However, investigation is on and the detailed report is awaited."