Bahanaga: Braving drizzle and chilly weather Friday, farmers in Bahanaga and other parts of Balasore were seen rushing to save paddy in their farmlands.
While some were shifting paddy bundles from the ground to elevated places, some other farmers were busy cutting the crop and carrying paddy sacks on bicycles, trolleys, rickshaws and tractors to their homes.
Traders from West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh directly buy paddy from the field. With inclement weather and the prospects of heavy rainfall, these traders are now out in numbers to take advantage of the current situation, They are buying paddy from the farmland for Rs 1,200 per quintal.
“Now we have no option but to dispose of our paddy at the farmland as procurement centres have not been opened yet. Besides, there are certain rules and regulations in selling paddy at the procurement centres. Better to hand over the traders,” said Madhusudan Roul, a farmer of Aruha.
Basanti Das, a woman farmer of Karnja village said, “Before the drizzle turns into heavy rain, we have engaged all our family members to carry as much paddy as possible to our homes. We struggle to shift the paddy bundles to higher places so that the grains will not soak in the ground.”
Benudhar Malick of Dandaharipur said, “Farmers would have got something from paddy sale if the government had opened paddy procurement centres by now. When it is not possible to shift all paddy from the field, it is rather convenient to sell off paddy to traders, who take away it from the field itself.”
Additional agriculture officer of Bahanga block, Ranganth Patra, confirmed that only 40 percent of paddy was cut in the area. PNN
