Jagatsinghpur: Two officials were suspended over alleged irregularities and dereliction of duty at a paddy procurement centre (Mandi) in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district on Sunday.
The District Collector of Jagatsinghpur placed the two officials under suspension after receiving grievances from local farmers regarding the management of the centre at Machhagaon under Balikuda block, sources said.
The suspended officers are the nodal officer at the mandi office Mohan Kumar Jena and Mandi Primary Agriculture Credit Society (PACS) officer Sishir Kumar Panda.
Sources said a dispute emerged at the mandi over token distribution which led to confrontation between farmers and the PACS staff around four days ago. Following an investigation into the issue, the District Collector suspended the two officials to resolve the ongoing problems and ensure seamless paddy procurement.
Notably, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra had also recently brought allegations of irregularities at some mandis against some rice mills during ongoing paddy procurement.
