Bhubaneswar: Rice millers in Odisha called off their protest on Wednesday, shortly after Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra informed that the government has agreed to several of their demands, including a hike in their transportation fees.
“We have issued an order to make payments for three months of custody maintenance. The government is also considering two other demands. Now, they have resumed work,” Patra told reporters, while announcing the resumption of paddy procurement operations in 19 districts across the state.
More than 14 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have already been procured, he added.
The decision comes after days of disruption in procurement activities, which had left farmers anxious about selling their produce. They have been spending nights at mandis, braving the cold, due to the deadlock between the Odisha government and rice millers.
The All Odisha Rice Millers’ Association has been on strike since Monday demanding an increase in milling charges, revision of transportation rates for paddy and rice and enhanced custody and maintenance levies for the grain stored in their godowns.
Association’s secretary, Laxmi Narayan Das, said decision was taken keeping the interest of the farming community in mind and millers will start lifting paddy for 15 day from Thursday. He further mentioned that the government has assured to fulfil the demands of the millers in the next 7-8 days. However, he made it clear that if the demands are not fulfilled within the given timeframe, a fresh meeting will be convened to take a decision on the future course of action.
