Kendrapara: In a tragic incident that has raised serious questions about the paddy procurement system in state, a middle-aged farmer from Junagadi village under Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district reportedly died of cardiac arrest after facing prolonged harassment during the sale of his paddy. The farmer, identified as Trilochan Nayak, had received a message January 16 asking him to sell his paddy at the local mandi.
What followed, according to his family, was nearly 40 days of repeated visits and procedural hurdles at the Dangamal Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS). Despite complying with official instructions, Trilochan was allegedly directed to transport his produce to a designated rice mill. Carrying nine quintals of paddy, he reportedly waited at the mill for three days without proper food or water. Family members alleged that the miller deducted 6 kg per quintal as “katni chatni,” in addition to taking three extra quintals of paddy and charging Rs 3,000 towards unloading expenses.
The farmer had already spent nearly Rs 18,000 on harvesting and transporting his crop. Distressed and financially strained by the alleged deductions and treatment, Trilochan returned home, where he later suffered a cardiac arrest. His family has blamed both the rice miller and officials of the cooperative society for alleged negligence and harassment, holding them responsible for his death. When contacted, Kendrapara Collector Raghuram R Iyer said he has ordered a probe into the matter. Meanwhile, concerns persist across Kendrapara district, where thousands of paddy packets reportedly remain exposed in open mandis, and farmers continue to wait for extended periods to sell their produce.
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Several farmers have alleged that millers frequently resort to the controversial practice of “katni chhatni,” procuring only 80-90 per cent of the produce and rejecting the rest, causing financial losses.
However, Gobinda Chandra Jena, Secretary of the Dangamal PACS, dismissed the allegations as “false and fabricated.” He stated that a total of 38.90 quintals of paddy had been procured from Trilochan February 14 and that payment of Rs 92,154 was credited to his account February 19. According to Jena, the farmer died of cardiac arrest at his residence. The incident has once again spotlighted the challenges farmers face in navigating the state’s procurement process.
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