Balasore: Anger and frustration over delayed paddy procurement spilled onto the roads in Odisha on Sunday, as farmers staged blockades in Bhadrak and Balasore districts.
Traffic was disrupted as farmers sought to draw people’s attention to their plight.
The protesting farmers alleged that they were being issued token for 15 days. Even as it is being extended upto 30 to 45 days, the sale is still not being completed.
In Balasore, hundreds of farmers blocked National Highway-16 at Khantapada near Soro. Agitated farmers squatted on the highway, halting vehicular movement between Bhubaneswar and Kolkata.
They raised slogans against the state government, demanding immediate intervention to ensure timely procurement.
Police were forced to divert vehicles through alternative routes due to major traffic snarls.
In Bhadrak, a similar situation unfolded on the Bhadrak-Chandbali road near Randia Chhak. Farmers complained that despite repeated assurances, procurement centres had failed to lift their harvested paddy.
They also accused officials of negligence, and warned that their produce was at risk of rotting in the open.
The protest led to long queues of vehicles on the busy route, with commuters stranded for hours.
Leaders of the agitations in both districts said farmers had been waiting for weeks to sell their paddy, but procurement centres were either closed or refusing to accept stock.
“We are left with no option but to protest. If the government does not act swiftly, our crops will be wasted and our livelihoods destroyed,” one farm leader said.
Police and district officials went to the protest sites to pacify the agitators.
Traffic was eventually restored after hours of disruption on Sunday, but farmers vowed to intensify their stir if procurement does not begin immediately.
