Bhubaneswar, December 11: Dubbing the BJD government in Orissa as “anti-poor, inefficient and irresponsible”, BJP today alleged that over 40 farmers in the state have committed suicide due to drought and indebtedness besides demanding a special package, including Rs five lakh each, to the families of the deceased.
“While Naveen Patnaik government has failed on all fronts, its anti-farmer policy has driven more than 40 farmers to commit suicide due to crop failure and debt,” senior BJP leader and former minister B B Harichandan told reporters here.
Though 3,305 villages in 15 districts of the state suffered over 50 per cent crop loss due to scanty rainfall, the state government has come out with a “hollow” package providing a meagre Rs 4,000 per acre in irrigated areas and Rs 2,000 per acre in un-irrigated land, he said.
–Agencies