Bhubaneswar, Nov 17: Farmers are said to be Annadata or food givers. It is shocking that they are committing suicide due to crop loss and loan burden during the current BJD rule in Odisha. In the last 30 days, three farmers have ended their lives at different places in the State.

Ramesh Bhoi of Bubel village under Puintala block in Balangir district reportedly consumed poison on his agriculture field on November 14 and he succumbed under treatment in the Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital the following day.

He took an extreme step in life under the pressure of loan burden after the crop loss caused by pest attacks.

On November 5, farmer Gobinda Sahoo of Astapada under Ranapur block in Nayagarh district ended his life by hanging. He reportedly took the step after his paddy crops were damaged due to lack of irrigation. He had also incurred about a lakh of rupees for the cultivation work.

On October 16, Nityananda Parida, a farmer of Dharmashala block in Jajpur district, committed suicide by consuming poison after the stone mafia forcibly dug his cultivable land.

While the deaths have shattered the farmers' families, opposition political parties have raised voice against the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the Naveen Patnaik government in the State.

A team of BJP Krushak Morcha led by Odisha president Mahesh Sahu has called on Governor Raghubar Das and apprised him about the plights of farmers.

In a memorandum submitted to the Governor, the BJP Krushak Morcha team alleged that the number of farmer deaths is rising in Odisha due to the negligence of the State government. He apprised the governor that the Naveen Patnaik Government has failed to create adequate irrigation facilities and cold storage in its 23 years of rule.

A three-member team of Congress also visited the deceased Ramesh Sahoo's family at Bubel village in Bolangir district recently. They alleged that the BJD government has not done any work for the development of farmers in the last 23 years.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have criticized the BJD government's failure to keep its promise of creating irrigation facilities for 35% of cultivable lands in all 314 blocks. By now, 35% of irrigation facility hasn't been created in 69 blocks of the State. Instead of establishing agro-based industries, this government has shut down existing jute, spinning, and sugar mills during the last 23 years of its rule.

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