Bhubaneswar, Feb 2 (PTI) Odisha‘s Opposition BJD highlighted the plights of farmers due to alleged mismanagement in the state government’s paddy procurement activities, both in the state and also in Parliament on Monday.
While BJD MP and the party’s national spokesperson Sasmit Patra raised the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, the party’s senior leaders in Odisha staged a massive agitation before the collector’s office in Bargarh district and submitted a memorandum seeking the intervention of the governor.
In a post on X, Patra said, “Odisha Farmers suffering due to closed Mandis, Katni-Chatni and lack of paddy procurement. Taking the voice of Odisha to the floor of the Rajya Sabha, I utilised Zero Hour today to spotlight the serious systemic issues confronting our state.” ‘Katni-Chhatni’ is a practice followed in Odisha where mandis arbitrarily decide how many kilograms of paddy would be deducted due to the weight of moisture without any scientific exercise, flouting the FAQ (fair average quality) rules for procurement, he said.
Patra said that under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, the BJD remains committed to fighting for the rights of farmers and ensuring that the concerns of every Odia are heard and addressed at the highest level of government.
“From the urgent need for fiscal justice to the local crises in our farm sector, I have demanded immediate central intervention to ensure the interests of our state are no longer overlooked,” he said.
Meanwhile, a massive rally was held at Bargarh, which was attended by BJD vice president Debi Prasad Mishra and the party’s deputy leader in the Assembly Prasanna Acharya, MLAs and senior leaders. They alleged that the state government has not been lifting paddy from farmers in state-run mandis, for which the farmers suffer.
Of over 19 lakh farmers registered to sell their paddy at the state run mandis, the government has purchased produces of only 7.95 lakh farmers by February 1, the opposition party alleged.
“The remaining over 8 lakh farmers are awaiting to sell their paddy,” said Mishra, adding that the farmers who have sold their paddy have not so far received their payment.
Alleging that the state’s BJP government failed to under take paddy procurement properly, the BJD leaders accused it of showing sympathy to the capitalists by waiving their taxes and mocking the farmers.
The opposition party asked the government to accelerate the paddy procurement process, make immediate payment to farmers and stop cutting the weight of paddy in the name of FAQ (fair average quality).
They alleged that many farmers have gone for distress sell of paddy due to mismanagement in government run mandis. “The farmers are selling their paddy at the rate of Rs 1400 to Rs 1500 per quintal instead of its price at Rs 3100 per quintal,” Mishra said. PTI AAM NN
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