Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) launched a scathing attack on Odisha’s Bharatiya Janata Party government on Tuesday, accusing it of betraying farmers by failing to ensure smooth paddy procurement across the state.
Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, senior BJD leaders alleged that the BJP government has ignored the plight of farmers by repeatedly giving false assurances at a press conference. They asserted BJD stands firmly with the farming community and threatened to launch a state-wide agitation to protect their interests.
Senior leader and former Minister Sanjay Das Burma claimed
that nearly 70 % of Odisha’s population depends on agriculture, yet the current procurement season has been marred by mismanagement.
Although Chief Minister Mohan Majhi had promised on December 24 that all mandis would be opened by January 10, at least eight districts -Puri, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Nayagarh, Jajpur and Kandhamal – still lack functional mandis, he claimed.
He added that despite a target of 73 lakh metric tonnes, only 17.85 lakh tonnes of paddy have been procured so far, in stark contrast to neighbouring Chhattisgarh, which has already surpassed its target of 80 lakh tonnes by procuring 97 lakh tonnes.
The BJD leaders further alleged that out of 19.66 lakh registered farmers, only 3.40 lakh have been able to sell their produce, leaving the majority in distress. Das Burma criticized the Food Supplies Minister’s recent statement that procurement would be capped at 150 quintals per farmer at Rs 3,100 per quintal, calling it “unfortunate and misleading.”