FARMER SUICIDE CONTINUES IN KOSAL AS FAMILY STRUGGLES TO GET MONEY FOR LAST RITES

Courtesy :- Express Service

With drought looming, three suicide cases of farmers have shaken the community sending a grim reminder of the impending situation.

On Sunday, Dhananjaya Pradhan (35) of Sarla village in Bargarh district allegedly attempted suicide. He was rushed to the district headquarters hospital only to be declared brought dead.

A day later, another farmer, K Chakrabarty Rao (45) of Talpadar village in Dhankauda block of Sambalpur district consumed pesticide.

And on Tuesday, Upendra Rajhansa of Tumgaon village under Sohela police limits in Bargarh district was found hanging. These farmers seem to be caught in debt trap and harassed by private land sharks and ‘middlemen.’ Upendra, already burdened with loan, was waiting for� Government compensation for kharif crop loss as announced.

After his death, a cheque of `1,600 was handed over towards crop loss. His wife Santoshini, naib sarpanch of Garbhanga gram panchayat, said the family had availed of heavy loan. Upendra had taken a private loan of about `60,000, mortgaged gold and even sold a piece of land. Sohela Tehsildar Tanmaya Kumar Darwan visited the� family and handed over a cheque of `10,000 along with the crop loss compensation amount.

Dhananjaya, who died on Monday, was under severe pressure after being constantly harassed and assaulted by a money-lender. After his death, when angry villagers confronted the money-lender, he� agreed to pay `1 lakh to the family.

While no official visited the bereaved family, Bargarh Tehsildar Gautam Chaudhury said the Revenue Inspector has been directed to visit the village and submit a report. He cited his preoccupation with� Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyuti Karan Yojana for his inability to personally visit the village.

The third farmer, Rao, owned three acres of land and had taken another 20 acres on lease. But crop loss due to pest attack and untimely rain devastated him forcing him to sell his land. It is said he had availed of private loan of about `8 lakh and was under tremendous pressure.

Several farmers’ bodies have time and again attributed such suicides to denial of loan by banks. Private loan comes in handy with heavy interest and takes a toll on the poor farmers.

�Farmer leader Ashok Pradhan said Rao was a role model in the area and was hardworking. If the State Government does not act fast and change the system, such suicides will continue, he lamented.

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Hours after farmers Dhananjay Pradhan and Upendra Rajhansa ended their lives, their wives are looking for money to perform the last rites.

Both had taken their lives unable to repay the loans they had availed of.Dhananjay of Sarla village under Bargarh police limits, who was declared brought dead in Bargarh Government Hospital, is survived by his wife Sebati and two daughters Manisha (5) and Nibedita (2).

He had to shoulder the family burden from the age of 20 after his father expired. He was financially broken with a meagre land holding of 1.5 acres which led him to take the extreme step.

Now, all the responsibility has fallen on Sebati, who is unsure of the road ahead. She has no money to even conduct the last rites of her husband.

Upendra’s wife of Santoshini of Tumgaon village under Sohela police limits too is struggling to gather funds to perform his funeral rites.

The couple had married off their two daughters while the younger one Sunita is studying in Class VII. Son Birsa has dropped plans to join college as he has to shoulder the family burden.

After marrying off both daughters in two successive years, Upendra mortgaged the little property, comprising the ornaments of his wife and part of his 2.5 acres land. Upendra had taken a private loan of about Rs 60,000 and another Rs 25,000 against the mortgaged ornaments.

Faulty Agricultural Policy Of State Killing Farmers Of KOSAL

By Amitabh Patra (amitabhpatra@gmail.com)

See how the DM (collector of Bargrh Dist. Odisha / Orissa ) behaved and asked his assistant to seize and break my camera when I tried to record video of a group of farmers demanding last years crop loss help declared by govt. Till day most of the surveyed areas have not recieved the declared "HELP" of govt.

This happened on 23rd March this year, and I was subsequently threatened by his assistant about dire consequences and told that things with me will not be good. A protest rally by about a thousand people was being held outside the DMs office, and still the H'ble (?) DM asked me to be kicked out of his (? is he not a public servant ?) office. I was attacked by his assistant while trying to save my camera and footage.

I was rescued by the farmers when they heard the noise outside the office, came running. Below is the facts I have been able to collect in last few months study. If the administrative head of a Dist. behaves likes this, in his PUBLIC office, what is expected from this colonial feudal democracy ?

The video of the rally held against last year's massive crop loss due to un--seasonal rain and insurance demand.

Till now there has not been any payments inspite of govt.s big promises of Rs. 4000/- per hector (2.5 acres) max even if you have cultivated 10 acres.

Expenses in Paddy cultivation is more than Rs.10000/- per acre. Land owning Farmers are taking loan from banks/ cooperatives. But landless farmers (share croppers) can not avail the same, and have to borrow from the local seed/ fertilizer seller @ 5% per month to 10% per month interest rate.

That comes to about 60 - 120% rate of interest p.a.

Micro-finance companies are lending @ 36% (on paper it is 12.5%) to the SHG members. In my study I am finding many of the suicide cases are due to this hefty interest rates and complete crop loss of last season.

A recent calculation of a suicide affected family from Jada village in Bargarh dist. I found that for their 3 acres of land which is distributed at 3 different places, had to spend about Rs.40,000/- and will yeild about 75 -80 bags of rice of 75kgs each.

The Father and son duo committed suicide due to crop loss and subsequent debt. last year.

There is a joint family of about 8 people, and the only male member in the family is about 18 years suffering from joint pain in left leg.

Their total earnings from the current crop will be about 55000/- and there is also another society loan of 20,500 + interests.

So their net profit from this crop will be 55000 - (40000 + 20500) = ?? please calculate.

This is the condition of agriculture in this country - that is why more or less all farmers are moving away from cultivation. The land owners are giving away their land to landless labours for share cropping. The benefit goes to the official record holders, but any kind of loss is borne by the share cropper. He has to pay the share (about 8 - 10 standard bags per acre) to the landlord.

Agricultural officers seldom visit the fields of such small farmers. Insurance is nothing but a govt. organised farce. As per the insurance prevailing, unless an entire block's crop is damaged, insurance can not be claimed.

So there is no insurance for a farmer, who has lost all due to nature's might. But farmers in Odisha have been paying insurance premiums since last 24- 25 years.

There is not a single instance where crop insurance has been paid.

After a harvest, there comes the selling of paddy, which is being controlled by mill owners. The MSP (minimum support price) of FAQ (fine average quality) paddy is Rs.1000/- per quintal (750 per standard bag) . But on ground few farmers in Bargarh and Sambalpur do get this price, being alert and able to fight the system.

Rest is sold at under-rate of about 550 or lesser in remote areas, where middle men control the paddy business. So unless a farmer gets more than 35 bags of FAQ rice from 1 acre, then it is a loss for him. If there is any natural calamity like pest attack/ rains/ hail storm or strong wind in which crop gets destroyed, all his past savings if made goes down the drain.

An individual farmer is not entitled to avail insurance. Why such a faulty policy ? Is he not a consumer of the Insurance Business of the nation ? Have not the farmers paid insurance premiums while taking loans from the banks ?

The chronic poverty of farmers is being caused by the faulty agricultural policy of the state and gradually farmers are going poorer. Many good farmers have sold out their agricultural land or have left cultivating themselves and given to share croppers.

Besides the above stated, there is health and social reasons which a farmer's family is prone to : marriageable daughters, and any kind of major health problem.

These are not covered under any kind of insurance. Daughters marriage is a big burden in a family being the Dowry associated with it.

Also the govt. apathy is that when someone commits suicide from poor family, a 10000/- Rs redcross fund is allocated to the family. But many instances, the police, doctor and block officials ask for some bribe or delay the relief amount. In some cases which I met the families, told that it took numerous visits to various officials, and after 4 - 6 months only they were able to get a suicide compensation of Rs.10000/- for a person who was head of the family.

2,575 farmers' suicides reported in 9 yrs in Orissa State

As many as 2,575 farmers committed suicide in the State during last nine years from 2000 to 2008 of the BJD rule.

Replying to a question on the issue in the State Assembly on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout admitted that as per the State Crime Record Bureau, alleged suicidal deaths relating to farm activities during the nine years was 2,575.

Besides, he said, during 2009-10 and 2010-11 (till February), a total of 64 farmers allegedly committed suicide as reported in the media.

However, there was no proof that the suicides were related to agricultural activities, he said while replying to a related question from Congress member Dambarudhar Ulaka.

Giving details of the 2,575 farmers' suicide, Dr Rout said the highest number of 378 suicidal deaths was reported in 2004, followed by 365 in 2003, 345 in 2002, 283 in 2006, 260 in 2008, 256 in 2001, 254 in 2005 and 199 in 2000.

On the alleged suicidal deaths during the last two years, he said the highest number of 11 farmers died in Sambalpur district, followed by eight in Bargarh, seven each in Sundargarah and Keonjar, three each in Balasore and Dhenkanal, two each in Balangir, Cuttack, Ganjam, Nuapada and Puri and one each in Boudh, Kalahandi, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Jharsuguda, Mayurbhanj, Koraput and Nabarangpur.

Dr Rout said that for development of agriculture and farmers, the State Government has taken a number of measures by continuously increasing the demand for grants for the department. While `344.58 crore was provided in the 2008-2009 Budget, it was increased to `747.72 crore during the 2010-11 Budget to implement pro-farmer programmes, he said.

Deaf & Dumb Orissa Govt Silent On Farmer Suicide In Kosal

Courtesy - NDTV

In a small village in Western Orissa's Sambalpur district, in a small house, a family looks to its neighbours for support. 61-year-old Shukla Chand killed himself by drinking pesticide. In this part of Western Orissa, this has become a frighteningly familiar story. Since November, 11 farmers from here have killed themselves.

Farmers have been catapulted from one crisis to another in Western Orissa since 2009. Floods, drought, and then exceptionally heavy rainfall last year before the harvest. The deaths of 100 farmers have officially been registered as suicides. The state government says it wasn't their failed crops that drove them to their death.

For farmers whose crops were wiped out by pre-harvest rains, the Centre has sanctioned Rs. 400 crore for Andhra Pradesh and another Rs. 600 crore for Maharashtra. No compensation for Orissa has been announced so far.

The state government, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal, has offered to pay farmers Rs. 400 per acre for rain-fed areas and Rs. 800 per acre for irrigated land - only if the farmers can prove he has lost his entire crop. But farmers point out they invest at least Rs. 9,000 per acre for their paddy crop. So the compensation being offered is worthless.

For farmers like Shukla Chand, it seems like there's no one on their side. His suicide note says after his last crop of paddy failed just before the harvest, the loans he owed seemed insurmountable. He had cultivated eight acres of paddy with an initial investment of Rs. 80,000. He then took a bank loan of five lakh to buy a tractor, and another three lakh from private money lenders. When heavy rains destroyed his standing crop in November last year, he could no longer cope.

"The Centre and state are playing a cruel joke on our farmers. The policy to compensate for losses due to calamities has not kicked in. There are thousands of farmers like Shukla Chand who are not dead as yet, but on the verge of death," says Saroj, the leader of a local cooperative of farmers.

Another farmer commits suicide in Sambalpur

Farmer suicide is now becoming a common phenomenon in KOSAL (Western Orissa) region ... More than 100 farmers have reportedly killed themselves in this current year and as usual the Govt of Orissa is denial mode and is Sleeping...

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Courtesy:- Pioneer

A small farmer of Mura village under Nua Tihura Gram Panchayat of Maneswar block Janardan Barik (42) committed suicide on Saturday night by hanging from a tree in a nearby forest.

Sources said, the villagers saw the body hanging from the tree and informed the police and local administration. The reason behind the suicide is said to be crop failure.

As per information, the farmer Janardan Barik who committed suicide on Saturday night has 3.12 acres of parental property and he cultivates two acres out of it. Rest 1.12 acre is cultivated by his brother. Besides, Janardan also cultivated another one acre taking on rent. This area comes under Maneswar block of the district and has been affected by drought as there was no sufficient rainfall this season. The villagers also met the Collector twice earlier to narrate their problems.

Janardan is survived by wife, one daughter, two sons, one brother and parents. His elder daughter is studying in +3 first year in a local college and two sons are in +2 first year and 9th class respectively.

The BDO of Maneswar block B Sai who conducted the preliminary enquiry said that the exact reason behind the suicide was yet to be ascertained. “It can be told only after the joint enquiry only,” the BDO said. However, he admitted that the family was a poor one and he took Rs 10, 000 from the cooperative bank as agriculture loan. He has also got some private loan for the same purpose, he added. But the family comes under BPL category and gets Rs. 2-a-kg rice every month, the BDO informed. “We have given Rs. 5, 000 from the Red Cross fund immediately to meet the funeral expenses,” he informed.

Looking at the growing numbers of suicide by the farmers, the people here have demanded before the State Government to come to the rescue of the farmers suffering from crop loss particularly in the drought-hit areas.

Coincidentally, the Krishak Sangathan is holding a two-day meeting here to discuss the problems of the farmers when the unfortunate incident took place.