BARIPADA: The usual excitement among farmers waiting for Makar Sankranti festival, which will be observed on January 14 next year, is missing in Badasahi block as all the designated paddy procuring centres are yet to be made operational by the district administration.The administration has opened at least one procurement centre in 25 of the total 26 blocks in the district. However in Badasahi, all the three centres at Badasahi, Managobindpur in Manatri and Sankerka are yet to be made operational.
Normally, farmers sell their paddy during this time of the year and use the profits to celebrate the agrarian festival of Makar Sankranti with much pomp and gaiety. However, the delay in opening of procurement centres has forced farmers of Badasahi to store their produce.
“We have no option now but to resort to distress sale. Many farmers have already sold their paddy to traders of West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh at a low price ranging from `1,200 to `1,300 per quintal to repay the loans taken during cultivation,” said Balabhadra Singh, a local farmer.
Expressing discontentment over delay in opening the centre at Sankerka, Singh said he is thinking of selling his paddy at much lower price to repay loan he had taken from local money lenders and cooperative society in the kharif season. “If the mandis open in a couple of days, we will get some profit,” he said.
Surendra Pati, another farmer of Managobindpur, said he was not interested to sell his paddy at a throwaway price to traders and brokers of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. “I had stocked my paddy in the farm field and was waiting for the procurement centre to open, but the rains on Thursday may affect the quality of the produce,” he said. Official sources said 600 farmers have been registered at Badasahi procurement centre, 1,215 at Managobindpur and 1,064 at Sankerka.
According to the Civil Supplies Office, the administration has decided to open 98 procurement centres across 26 blocks of the district and set a target to purchase around 9.91 lakh quintal of paddy from 40,583 registered farmers. Deputy Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Mayurbhanj Damayanti Singh said of the 98 procurement centres, 44 have been opened in the first phase and the rest 54 would be made operational on January 20. Paddy procurement commenced from December 17 in Mayurbhanj district.