SAMBALPUR/BALASORE: Opposing the centralised token system, farmers of Sambalpur blocked the NH-53 at Baraipali on Tuesday by placing tractors laden with paddy bags. Vehicular movement on the busy Mumbai-Kolkata highway was brought to a standstill due to the blockade.
Although the Sambalpur ASP PK Mohapatra, Civil Supplies Officer Ranjan Seth urged the farmers to withdraw the road blockade, the latter refused to budge from their stand.
The agitating farmers under the banner of Sambalpur Zilla Krushak Surakhya Sangathan (SZKSS) accused the procurement officials of mismanagement in issuing tokens and demanded withdrawal of the system.
Last month following a series of agitations on the issue, the State Government had assured that paddy would be procured from farmers irrespective of possessing tokens or not.
Under the system, tokens are issued to farmers a fortnight before procurement and they are notified through an SMS on their registered mobile number by a private agency roped in by the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department for the job.
Member of SZKSS Debendra Pradhan said many farmers have not received tokens although paddy procurement had started in the area and if they are going to the mandis without tokens, their paddy stocks are being returned. Besides, farmers who received tokens pointed out errors in the quantity of paddy to be procured.
The agitators alleged that apart from mismanagement of tokens, payments are not being made on time. Initially, farmers used to get their payment within 24 hours of lifting of paddy from the market yard. This, however, is not the case now.
They demanded withdrawal of centralised token system besides, hike in paddy yield rate. The paddy yield rate was fixed at 19 quintal per acre for irrigated land and 13 quintal per acre for non- irrigated land during the current Kharif season.
The agitation was called off in the night after Sambalpur Sadar Sub-Collector Aniruddha Pradhan gave them a written assurance that paddy of all registered farmers would be procured at the market yard. Farmers coming for procurement without tokens will be provided the same at the market yard, he said.
In Balasore district too, delay in issuance of tokens has worried farmers who are apprehensive of distress sale.
Of 418 farmers of Dudhahinsa, Gadapada, Routapada and Bharda panchayats affiliated to Routpada cooperative society who registered for procurement, only eight have received tokens so far.
After verifying documents, the Civil Supplies department prepared a list of 367 eligible farmers for procurement and 235 of them were asked to sell their paddy at Gadapada procurement centre and 132 at Nuagaon centre.
The officials asked farmers of Nuagaon to upload their details for issuing tokens and 54 of them did so.
However, only eight farmers got their tokens for participating in procurement which began on Monday.
Farmers met the Civil Supply Officer Rabinarayan Prusty over the issue and he assured them that tokens will be issued phase-wise.
Farmers’ unending wait for tokens in Jeypore
Around 3,000 farmers, who have not yet been issued tokens, are waiting to sell their paddy in Jeypore sub-division.
The district administration’s failure to review the ongoing paddy procurement process has added to their woes. Mandis to procure paddy from farmers were opened on November 15 in the district.
However, the procurement process was started only on December 1 owing to delay in issuing tokens to the farmers.
As many as 2,000 farmers of Jeypore sub-division had applied with LAMPS in their respective areas to get their names registered for issue of tokens well before December.
Their names were sent to the office of State Civil Supplies Corporation in Bhubaneswar and they were issued tokens within a fortnight.
However, the around 3,000 farmers, who had applied for tokens in the first and second weeks of December are yet to receive them.
It is alleged that LAMPS authorities did not send the list of these farmers to the office concerned immediately after compiling it. Farmers of Jeypore have been returning empty-handed from the district civil supplies office and LAMPS in their respective areas.
Koraput Civil Supplies Officer Tularam Nayak said the LAMPS have been asked to mail the farmers’ list to the State Civil Supplies Corporation at Bhubaneswar. The farmers of the area rued the apathy of the district administration towards their plight.
They said the Collector has not been reviewing the procurement process. In previous years, the district Collector reviewed the process by visiting the mandis and seeking farmers’ feedback.