Lockdown Opposed: Farmers’ Organisation Decries Odisha Govt Policy

Bhubaneswar: In a first major protest against lockdown, Nav Nirma Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) has decried the State Government’s decision which has deprived the farmers of their livelihood .

National convener of the Sangathan Akshay Kumar and State convener Seshdev Nanda have said the agriculture sector has collapsed due to the prolonged lockdown. The farmers have been left in a lurch as they could not sell the kharif produce nor get labourers to harvest rabi crop, they added.

Citing the examples of countries like South Korea, Singapore and Sweden which have managed to contain the coronavirus without resorting to lockdown, they said besides financial loss, the people are enduring mental agony in Odisha due to the forced lockdown.

To help the farmers tide over the economic crisis, they demanded Rs 5,000 monthly allowance to each farmer family, immediate release of fund under Kaalia and pension schemes and end of police brutality on the innocent farmers.