MALKANGIRI : Accusing the state government of failing to address farmers’ grievances and going back on its election promises on paddy procurement, the district unit of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staged protest in front of the Malkangiri collector’s office on Friday.
The BJD leaders alleged that during the ongoing kharif procurement season, farmers are facing harassment due to administrative apathy, systemic exploitation and an inefficient procurement mechanism.
BJD’s district president and former Malkangiri MLA Manas Madkami said during the 2024 elections, the BJP had promised to increase the minimum support price (MSP) and completely stop deductions (katni-chhatni) at mandis.
However, mandis have now turned into centres of distress for farmers, with deductions of 5-7 kg per quintal being imposed on the pretext of moisture content and quality issues, he claimed.
The agitators criticised the government for allegedly imposing a ceiling of 150 quintal on the promised input subsidy of `800 per quintal, terming it a betrayal of the election manifesto and a penalty on farmers producing higher quantity of paddy.
The BJD leaders alleged that the procurement process is moving at a sluggish pace, forcing farmers to guard their produce to protect it from rain and theft. They also pointed to the lack of basic facilities at mandis, failure of the token system and undue delays in payment. While the BJP had promised payments within 48 hours through DBT, farmers in many cases are waiting for over a week to receive their dues, they claimed.
The protesters said the deductions coupled with the 150-quintal ceiling and delays in procurement and payments have created a distressing, pushing farmers into the clutches of middlemen and millers and forcing some of them to sell paddy below the MSP to repay loans.
Later in the day, a BJD delegation submitted a charter of demands to additional district magistrate (General) Somnath Pradhan.