JAGATSINGHPUR: Delay in paddy procurement in Jagatsinghpur has not gone down well with the farmers here who allege the district administration, caught up in preparations for the upcoming polls, is not taking steps to expedite the process.
Every year, the administration engages 40 millers to lift 11 lakh metric tonne paddy from 45,381 farmers. In a review meeting held in November last year and chaired by Collector Parul Patawari, it was decided to open 105 paddy procurement centres (PPCs) in eight blocks of the district by January 20, 2022 and rope in 25 millers as paddy production had taken a hit due to unseasonal rains.
Attended by Water Resource Minister Raghunandan Das and MLA Prasant Muduli, the meeting also decided to provide tarpaulins to PPCs for protecting stacked paddy from damages due to untimely rains. However, only three millers have reportedly been roped in and 69 PPCs are operational.
Sources said that the administration relies heavily on millers from Sambalpur and Bargarh but even they have not been able to reach here as paddy procurement in their respective districts is yet to be completed. Helpless, farmers are now at the mercy of middlemen and forced to distress sell their produce for Rs 1,250 per quintal instead of the MSP fixed at Rs 1,960.
“The officials concerned are busy for the panchayat polls and have been ignoring our plight despite repeated requests. Our displeasure against the ruling party candidates will be expressed when we cast our votes during the elections,” said Bansidhar Patnaik, a farmer leader.
Even sarpanch and other candidates want this issue to be resolved before they embark on campaigning for the polls from Wednesday. “Voters are already unhappy over the entire issue so we have decided to start door-to-door campaigning only after opening of adequate PPCs,” said Nihar Ranjan Pati, Sampur panchayat sarpanch candidate.
Contacted, district civil supplies officer Sujata Mishra said, “I have sought the intervention of the higher authorities in the matter, requesting them to send at least 10 millers from other districts to expedite the procurement process here.”