Korba: Two farmers in the Korba district of Chhattisgarh have attempted suicide in the last two days, allegedly after facing difficulties in selling their paddy at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) at government procurement centers, with reports indicating they felt frustrated and trapped in bureaucratic formalities.
Recent incident, 60-year-old Baishakhu Ram Markam of Jhanjh village attempted suicide on Tuesday by consuming poison at the Hardibazar Tehsil Office premises; he is currently hospitalized in serious condition. His troubles stemmed from revenue officials allegedly marking his farmland area as less than the over 3 acres he owns, which limited his paddy sale to just 15 quintals.
A separate incident involved Sumer Gond of Korbi village attempting suicide on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. In response, District Collector Kunal Dudawat suspended the concerned patwari and issued show-cause notices to the tehsildar and procurement center in-charge. Despite a prior meeting called by the Collector to resolve farmers' issues, farmer leader S Tekam complained that the second tragic incident suggests a lack of seriousness from the government and district administration.
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The incidents have also sparked political reaction, with Youth Congress members protesting, Korba MP Jyotshna Mahant blamrd the ruling BJP government that it had not taken proper steps to stop farm suicides. Former Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar stated he would speak with Chief Minister Vishnudeo Sai.
