JEYPORE: Peeved over nagging issues during procurement of paddy at mandis, farmers of Jeypore have threatened to dump their produce on NH-26 near Kumuliput on Monday.Sources said procurement in mandis of Jayatigiri, Hadia and Kumulipur panchayats of Jeypore sub-division has been marred by issues like deduction of paddy to compensate for low quality produce.
Sources said while farmers of the region are ready to add three kg to a quintal of paddy to make up for the low-quality produce, some middlemen are preventing them from doing so. This has brought the procurement process to a standstill at all mandis under the panchayats.
Sources said though mandis were opened in the sub-division on December 15, no grain has yet been sold by the farmers due to the issue. The middlemen who had purchased huge quantities of paddy earlier from the farmers are trying to gain more profit by offering only two kg extra paddy per quintal for low quality produce.
“We took our paddy for sale in mandis under Kumuliput LAMPS twice but could not do so because of the stalemate between the millers and the middlemen,” rued Jadeswar Sahu of Jayantigiri. Irked over the stalemate, the farmers of the region rushed to the Jeypore sub-collector and district civil supplies offices and submitted memoranda threatening to dump their produce on NH-26 near Kumuliput if the issues at the mandis are not settled by Sunday.
Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati also warned to take to the streets if the administration does not lift paddy from all farmers of the region. Jeypore district civil supplies officer PK Panda said efforts are on to resolve the issues at the mandis.