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Non-sanction of loan drives farmer to suicide: ‘fact-finding’ team

BHUBANESWAR: A “fact-finding team” comprising social activists and journalists found that a farmer in Khurda district had committed suicide after failing to avail himself of agricultural credit from a cooperative society.

Despite his repeated appeals, the farmer, Kashinath Bhuyan, who belonged to Tikipada village of Balipatna block, failed to secure a loan of Rs. 15000 from Nishintapur agricultural credit cooperative society to sustain his vegetable crop.

Though he was a bona fide member of the credit cooperative, he was never told about the cause of non-payment of a loan of Rs 15000 for which he was eligible, Sudhir Pattnaik, a journalist and member of the team, said.

During the probe, the team interacted with family members of the deceased, villagers of Tikipada, board members of Nischintapur agricultural credit cooperative society and local moneylender.

On April 22, Kashinath made a last desperate attempt to know from the secretary reasons for not getting the agricultural credit loan. After he returned from the secretary’s house he consumed a pesticide called Tarzen and died, the fact-finding team’s report said.

“Not only Kashinath, farmers in general in this area are facing the same plight and many more farmers may commit suicide in the future as there is no sign of improvement of their plight. Either they will die if no loan is made available to them or they will die because they will not be in a position to repay the loans,” the team noticed.

“Activities of the agricultural credit societies in the State need to be assessed properly and steps must be taken to ensure farmers active participation in the decision-making processes,” Prafulla Samantra, social activist who visited the village, said.

“The State must constitute a commission consisting of people known to be closely working on farmers’ issues to assess the agricultural situation in the State and to suggest remedies from the perspective of framers and sustainable agriculture,” he demanded.

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