In a heart-wrenching incident that has sent shockwaves across Odisha, a young farmer from Baragada district—the state’s celebrated rice bowl—has been driven to seek euthanasia after months of futile attempts to sell his hard-earned paddy harvest.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has strongly condemned the ruling dispensation, terming it a damning indictment of the “double-engine” government’s farmer policies.
Farmer Gopalakrushna Sahu from Baragada reportedly wrote to the President of India pleading for mercy death after facing repeated rejections from procurement officials. Shockingly, the district administration accepted his application, exposing what opposition leaders call administrative helplessness and policy failure.
Addressing a press conference at Sankha Bhawan, Baragada MLA Barsha Singh Bariha and BJD Spokesperson Dr. Lenin Mohanty painted a grim picture. “This is highly shameful. A farmer who feeds the nation is forced to beg for death because he cannot sell his produce,” Bariha said. She highlighted how thousands of quintals of paddy lie unsold in mandis, sprouting after monsoon rains, while input costs for seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides have skyrocketed.
The BJD leaders accused the government of failing on its promises, including timely procurement at enhanced Minimum Support Price (MSP). Instead, they alleged, farmers face deductions of up to 15 kg per quintal through “cut-and-shortage” practices, token shortages, and delayed payments that were promised within 24 hours.
Dr. Mohanty pointed out the broader distress: delayed pensions for the elderly, disabled, and widows, adding to the farming community’s woes. “The government boasts of ₹3,100 per quintal but delivers only despair,” he remarked.
Baragada’s fertile fields, once a symbol of agricultural prosperity, now mirror a state grappling with systemic neglect.
With farmers protesting across mandis and global attention on Odisha’s agrarian crisis, the BJD has vowed to intensify its struggle until concrete solutions emerge.
