Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has come down heavily on the ‘double engine’ government over the acute shortage and black marketing of urea in the state, alleging gross mismanagement and betrayal of farmers.
Addressing a press conference at Congress Bhawan here Sunday, Odisha Kisan Congress president Abhay Sahu accused the state government of failing to ensure adequate and timely distribution of fertilisers despite having ample stock.
“The government claims to have 7.94 lakh tonne of urea, yet farmers are struggling to get even a single bag.
If this is not failure, what is?” he questioned. Sahu alleged, urea, which is officially priced at Rs 226.50 per bag, is being sold illegally at Rs 500 to Rs 600 in Bargarh, Bolangir, Sundargarh, and even up to Rs 900 in parts of Nuapada.
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“This is daylight robbery,” he added, blaming corrupt officials and private traders for diverting subsidised urea into the black market.
He alleged that MARKFED, the government’s designated distribution agency, is supplying subsidised fertilisers to private traders instead of farmers.
“This is being done with full knowledge of certain officials, turning the whole system into a farce,” he alleged.
OPCC spokesperson Manisha Das Pattnaik called the urea shortage “a direct attack on the backbone of Odisha’s farmers,” warning that the current crisis could endanger the state’s Kharif paddy cultivation.
“Despite lower fertiliser use in Odisha, mismanagement and corruption have pushed our farmers to the edge,” she said.
Pattnaik also questioned the delay in the Talcher fertiliser plant, whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018.
“It was promised to be functional in 36 months, but seven years later, it still remains non-operational,” she noted. Senior Congress leaders Ashok Swain, Rupadipta Mahapatra, and Bibhuti Bhushan Mahapatra echoed the concerns, terming the crisis a betrayal of farmers.
“Even with the Deputy Chief Minister holding the Agriculture portfolio, the state has failed to deliver fertilisers to its farmers,” they said.
The Congress demanded an immediate crackdown on black marketing and punishment of guilty dealers and officials, fertiliser distribution through cooperative societies, Aadhar-based panchayat-level allocation, district-wise buffer stock creation and a special relief package for affected farmers.
The party warned of intensified protests if the government fails to act.
“We will gherao all agriculture offices across the state to fight for farmers’ rights,” Congress leaders declared.
PNN
