Sambalpur: Even as political parties are engaged in a bitter war over the problems in paddy procurement in western Odisha, these agitations have failed to bear fruits. Farmers continue to suffer due to absence of a clear cut policy on paddy procurement, a report said.
Reports said the opposition BJP and the Congress are attacking the state government on the issue. The ruling BJD is also not silent and blames the Centre for the impasse.
Various farmer outfits have been staging agitations on the issue but nothing has helped the farmers so far. During last kharif marketing season, demand was made to procure all paddy stocks brought to the mandis.
Farmers also sought abolition of the token and the iris systems and to end the process of katni-chhatni in paddy procurement. The agitations threw traffic out of gear on the major national and state highways for hours together.
The protestors even staged demonstrations outside the offices of civil supply officer and sub-collector by piling up paddy packets outside their offices. The agitations failed to be of any help as the same rules were found applicable during the paddy procurement in rabi season.
In rabi season, farmers faced problems like crop loss due to unseasonal rain and cyclonic storms. This led to a delay in harvest of their crops following which tokens issued to hundreds of farmers expired and their paddy packets remained unsold in the mandis.
As per government rules, paddy procurement was stopped from June 30. This infuriated the farmers and the opposition parties as the BJP took to the streets on the issue. The party staged road blockades and gheraoed the CSO office.
It also warned to intensify the agitation in coming days if the demands are not met. Similarly, the Congress also staged agitations on price hike of petroleum products and essential commodities as well as on farmer issues.
The ruling BJD tried to shift the blame on the Centre, stating that the paddy procurement takes place under the supervision of the latter. Farmers alleged that the ruling BJD has refused to entertain its demand for bonus and compensation.
Samir Ranjan Babu, district president of the BJP Krushak Morcha said the party is fighting for the interest of the farmers but the state government is not implementing its promises.
He alleged that the state government had assured to procure the paddy of actual farmers before June 30 but failed to keep its promise for which his party has staged protests. He said no decision has been taken on protests against hike in fuel prices and other essentials.
Ashok Pradhan, convener of Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan said the problems faced by the farmers are manmade and blamed the politicos and officials for this. He said the BJP and the Congress should have staged agitations when the paddy procurement was continuing.
However, staging protests after the expiry of the deadline on paddy procurement are of no use and termed them as cheap politics. Manoj Mohapatra, former state secretary of the farmers’ wing of the erstwhile Janata Dal alleged that the BJP is shedding crocodile tears on the issue.
He said the saffron party is staging agitation without increasing the MSP on paddy on the basis of the Swaminathan Commission report. The state government is always working to safeguard the interests of farmers and will continue to do so in future, he added.
Gobinda Mishra, the district president of the Kishan Congress said the agitation is being staged to put pressure on the government. He warned that the problems of the farmers would remain unresolved as long as the paddy procurement rules are not framed by a district level committee.
PNN
