Farmer suicide cases continue to rock Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Farmer suicide incidents continue to grip Odisha with fresh cases reported on Thursday from Boudh and Jajpur district. In Boudh district, a farmer, identified as Ballav Dharei of Jallepalli village under Kantamal block, died while undergoing treatment at Sonepur District Headquarters Hospital. Ballav had attempted suicide by consuming poison late on Wednesday night allegedly over crop loss and failure to repay loans. Another such incident was reported from Jajpur district where a person identified as Kalinga Ghadei of Raghunathpur area allegedly attempted suicide by drinking poison. Kalinga was admitted to the hospital where his condition was stated to be critical. Sources said he was indebted with Rs 2 lakh worth of crop loan from bank. Earlier on Wednesday, a farmer, identified as Sudam Khatua of Balasore Sadar, had died after committing suicide. Khatua had taken Rs 1.45 lakh loan at 10 per cent interest last year from a local, but he was unable to repay the amount due to crop loss.