Bhubaneswar: The death of a farmer in Odisha’s Kendrapada district has ignited a fierce political controversy, with opposition parties accusing the BJP-led state government of systemic failures in the paddy procurement process.
The 53-year-old farmer, Trilochan Nayak, reportedly died of a heart attack at home on Wednesday night after allegedly enduring four days of distress and frustration while waiting in vain in front of a rice mill to sell his paddy. The Kendrapada administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Labelling the incident as a “systematic failure” that highlights widespread harassment and inefficiencies plaguing farmers across the state, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has demanded the immediate resignation of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra. Senior BJD leaders, including vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra and spokesperson Lenin Mohanty, alleged that the government has procured only about 33% of the state’s estimated 193 lakh metric tonnes of paddy production so far, far short of its promise to buy every grain by March 31.
“The deceased farmer had received a token on January 16. However, 6 kg per quintal were deducted from his produce during the cutting and grading process. He faced repeated harassment at every stage while trying to sell his paddy,” Mishra said, quoting his family members.
He added that Patra’s video message, claiming that paddy procurement in the state was running smoothly, is a blatant lie.
Lenin criticised the minister over conflicting procurement figures. “In the Assembly last Tuesday, the Minister stated that 64.10 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had been procured so far. However, in a subsequent video message, he claimed that 63.65 lakh metric tonnes had been procured. Two different figures in two days proves that the Minister is misleading the public,” he added.
The Odisha Congress also joined the fray, staging pr
otests in the state assembly alongside BJD members to decry irregularities in the procurement system.
In response, BJP’s Kendrapada district president Sasanka Sekhar Sethi dismissed the opposition’s claims as “politically motivated,” insisting that procurement is proceeding smoothly at the government-fixed rate of RS 3,100 per quintal for fair average quality (FAQ) paddy. He emphasised that the farmer’s death has no direct connection to the process and accused rivals of exploiting the tragedy for political gain.
Incidentally, the farmer died a day after BJD’s ‘Chasi Surakhya Samabesh’ at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar, accusing the state government of neglecting agrarian distress and failing to fulfil its promises to the farming community.
According to his younger brother, Duryodhan Nayak, Trilochan received a procurement token via SMS on January 16 but faced repeated refusals at the Dangamala Agricultural Cooperative Society over nearly 40 days. On February 22, he was directed to unload 51 quintals of paddy at the Ramachandi rice mill in Gopalpur, where he and his brother waited for three days and nights under the open sky, without adequate food, water, or shelter.
Family members allege that mill authorities imposed arbitrary deductions of 6 kg per quintal, resulting in a loss of about 9 quintals, and demanded an additional Rs 3,000 payment, exacerbating Trilochan’s distress. The ordeal also cost the family nearly Rs 18,000 in tractor rentals, loading, and unloading charges, plus around Rs 5,000 per day in transportation expenses.
Overwhelmed by the mental and physical strain, Trilochan returned home feeling unwell on February 25 afternoon and collapsed that night.
However, secretary of Dangamala Agricultural Cooperative Society Gobinda Jena, refuted these claims, stating that Trilochan had successfully sold 38 quintals of paddy directly at the society on February 14 or 22, with his ID scanned and no instructions given to redirect to the mill. Jena noted that neither the farmer nor his family had filed any complaint about difficulties.
Meanwhile, Rajnagar tehsildar and the civil supplies officer have been directed to conduct a probe into the incident and submit a detailed report. Additional district magistrate Nabakrishna Jena said further action would be taken based on the findings.