Bargarh, Odisha: Mithila stares blankly at the road, waiting for her husband to return, but Makardhwaja will never come back. His paddy crop failed in the last season and with little hope of paying back a loan of over Rs 80,000, he killed himself in December.
With three children and her mother-in-law to look after, Mithila now works as a labourer in Bargarh while her daughter helps with the household chores.
"We were facing difficulty to sustain even when my husband was alive. After his death, it has become a challenge to take care of three children. I have to work as a labourer to make ends meet," says Mithila.
Once considered the rice bowl of the state, Bargarh district in western Odisha is now facing an agrarian crisis. With 27 farmer suicides last year, the district has recorded the highest number of such cases in the state.
"The farmers do not get the Minimum Support Price and sell their yield at underrate. This is one reason for farmer suicide. Another reason is the dearth of irrigation facilities in the drought-prone areas. Whatever the state government claims, is only on television and newspaper," says Sushanta Mishra, an activist.
Even though farmers and activists blame most of the suicides to mounting debt and crop failure, none of the cases investigated by district administration indicate that.
"Suicide is a fact but due to crop loss and debt burden is not a fact. There was no burden from any financial institution for recovery," says Anjan Kumar Manik, the District Collector of Bargarh.
Farmers claim they approached the administration several times with their problems, but nothing has happened.
"It is difficult to sell our produce. We can only sell 20 bags even if we yield 40. The remaining is sold at a lesser price. Even the markets do not open at the right time," says G Srinivas, a farmer in Aamsada village.
With the Union Budget just a few days away, farmers now pin their hopes on the government to come up with at least some measures to bring them relief.
With three children and her mother-in-law to look after, Mithila now works as a labourer in Bargarh while her daughter helps with the household chores.
"We were facing difficulty to sustain even when my husband was alive. After his death, it has become a challenge to take care of three children. I have to work as a labourer to make ends meet," says Mithila.
Mithila's family lives in the Temeran village of Bargarh in Odisha.
Even though farmers and activists blame most of the suicides to mounting debt and crop failure, none of the cases investigated by district administration indicate that.
Bargarh district saw the highest farmer suicide cases in Odisha last year.
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"It is difficult to sell our produce. We can only sell 20 bags even if we yield 40. The remaining is sold at a lesser price. Even the markets do not open at the right time," says G Srinivas, a farmer in Aamsada village.
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