BARGARH: Farmers in Bargarh district intensified their protest against state government’s new paddy procurement registration norms by launching a protest outside the office of district registrar of cooperative societies (DRCS) on Thursday.
Under the aegis of Sanjukta Krushak Sangathan, the farmers started a dharna but tension built up when they attempted to barge into the office, demanding it be vacated and locked. However, police intervened in time and brought the situation under control.
On July 31, the farmers had served an ultimatum to the government to revoke the new registration process by August 5. As no official response came within the stipulated time, the farmers began a phase-wise protest starting Wednesday, locking up primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS) in several blocks. On the first day alone, at least five PACS were shut across the district.
Prior to the sit-in protest on Thursday, several farmer society members from Sarkanda, Sohela, Ghens, Sanimal, and Bheden had locked their societies and arrived in Bargarh to join the stir.
The farmers strongly opposed the mandatory submission of family tree documents for registration which they argued would cause disputes among family members, especially siblings, and exclude actual cultivators. Due to inheritance laws, non-cultivating women landowners may obtain paddy cards while real farmers may be denied the right to sell their produce, they said.
The farmers demanded that registration be allowed through self-declaration and in cases of dispute, consent letters from family members should suffice instead of detailed record of legal heirs.
The protest continued for around six hours after the initial round of talks with the sub-registrar and sub-collector failed to yield results. However, Bargarh DRCS Jugala Das later held detailed discussions and promised to consult the collector over the issue by the end of day.
Based on his assurance, the protest was called off at 4 pm. However, the organisation has warned that the movement would be intensified if their demands are not met promptly.