KENDRAPARA: Amid Opposition onslaught on the state government over paddy procurement, a 53-year-old farmer reportedly suffered a heart attack and died at his home in Kendrapara on Wednesday night. Family members alleged that Trilochan Nayak had spent four days in front of a rice mill trying to sell his produce and was distressed over the delay in procurement of his paddy stock.
The Kendrapara district administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Trilochan, a resident of Junagadi village under Rajnagar block, had reportedly struggled for four days to get his paddy accepted at a rice mill before his death.
His brother Duryodhan Nayak said Trilochan went to Dangamal Agricultural Cooperative Society on February 22 to sell 51 quintal of paddy. Society officials allegedly asked him to unload the stock at Ramachandi rice mill in Gopalpur. He then waited outside the mill for four days for his turn, Duryodhan claimed.
On Wednesday afternoon, Trilochan felt uneasy and returned home. Later in the night, he collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest and died. “My brother spent around `18,000 to transport his paddy from the village to the mill,” Duryodhan alleged.
However, Gobinda Jena, secretary of Dangamal Agricultural Cooperative Society at Iswarpur, denied the allegations. He said Trilochan was registered at the local procurement centre and had received an SMS on January 14 asking him to bring his produce. “He came after a month, on February 22, and sold 38 quintal of paddy. We never asked him to take his harvest to any rice mill,” Jena said.
Following the farmer’s death, the district administration directed the Rajnagar tehsildar and the civil supplies officer to probe the incident and submit a detailed report.
Rajnagar tehsildar Jisukrishna Das said an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of death. “We will submit a report to the district administration soon,” he added. Additional district magistrate Nabakrishna Jena said further action would be taken after receipt of the probe report.
The Opposition Biju Janata Dal criticised the state government over the incident, alleging that the paddy procurement system in the state has collapsed. The party’s vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra demanded the resignation of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra on moral grounds.
The BJD further claimed that though Trilochan had received a token on January 16, six kg of paddy per quintal was deducted from his produce. “He faced repeated harassment at every stage to sell his paddy. He was instructed to deliver it to Ramachandi mill but was made to wait there for three days to complete the process,” Mishra alleged.