Bolangir: Adopting a unique method of protest, hundreds of vegetable farmers of Chandanbhati Wednesday dumped their produce in front of the collectorate here alleging highhandedness of local traders.
According to reports, some vendors had been selling vegetables putting their stalls along the road outside the Daily Market Complex for last few days.
Farmers of Chandanbhati used to supply them vegetables. However, the traders of the daily market started opposing them and prevented the suppliers from entering into the area.
Arguing that they incur losses, the traders have been staging a sit-in for the last three days seeking relocation of the makeshift vendors. They have been hanging about on Sadaipali road in the wee hours to stop farmers, who supply vegetables to roadside vendors, from entering the town.
Failing to sell their yield in last few days, the farmers reportedly suffered heavy losses. Severely affected by the ban imposed by local traders, many farmers of Chandanbhati came to Town police station and registered their verbal complaints with Sadar SDPO Narayan Nayak.
Apprehending that the administration was not in a mood to resolve the issue, the vegetable farmers dumped the vegetables which they brought with them for sale to protest the lackadaisical attitude of the administration.
On the other hand, the daily market remained closed for the last three days due to the clash of interests between two groups of vendors in the town causing inconvenience to citizens.
The incident evoked sharp reactions among locals, who blamed the administration and police for not resolving the matter even after three days.
By the time of filing of this report, the traders had withdrawn their dharna following a discussion with officials and opened their shops. PNN
