Delay In Paddy Procurement Triggers Farmers’ Protests In Odisha

Sambalpur/Bargarh/Bhubaneswar: Protesting against the inordinate delay in procurement of paddy and the online token system introduced by the Odisha government, farmers on Monday staged a road blockade in Sambalpur and Bargarh districts.

In Sambalpur district, vehicular traffic came to a standstill after farmers blocked National Highway-6 between Bamra and Bareipali keeping the paddy on the road.

A similar incident was reported from Bargarh district as the farmers blocked the National Highway at Godabhaga under Attabira police limits.

Though Bargarh collector Jyoti Ranjan Pradhan had a prolonged meeting with the agitating farmers at his office till late last night, it remained inconclusive.

Apart from this, talks between the DIG, northern range, Himanshu Lal and the farmers at Attabira police station last night also failed.

In Bhubaneswar, thousands of farmers under the banner of Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan had a scuffle with the police at the Sishu Bhawan Square as they tried to march towards Naveen Niwas protesting the online token system. Police later arrested several activists.

Till reports last came in, the representatives of ministers Sushanta Singh and Ranendra Pratap Swain will have a meeting with the farmers in Sambalpur on Thursday to resolve the impasse.

On Wednesday, a meeting between Sushanta Singh and the farmers’ bodies in Sambalpur on this matter had yielded no results.