Farmers frustrated with government officials’ non-response to their grievances on Tuesday set acres of paddy crop in Odisha’s Bargarh district as a mark of protest.
According to reports, the farmers had procured pesticide from government agencies to protect their crop. However, they found the pesticide of very low quality and failing to prevent the pests from eating out standing crop. The farmers again drew the attention of the district administration to the problem.
However, as no response positive response came from the government side, as many as 10 farmers on Tuesday morning set their crop fire. “Farmers of Bargarh have been complaining about the quality of the pesticide since long and demanding interventions by the government agencies but to no available. This government is totally apathetic towards the farmers,” said Seshadeba Nanda, a noted farmers leader.
Agriculture minister Dr Damodar Rout remained incommunicado for his comment. At least three farmers in Baragarh district have committed suicide in the past seven days due to crop loss.
