The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the principal Opposition party, on Tuesday demanded that the state government extend the kharif paddy procurement period by at least 15 days and allow an additional month for registration for rabi paddy procurement, citing large-scale distress among farmers.
The demand came amid protests by farmers across districts. In Balasore, farmers blocked the Soro-Kupari road by placing sacks of paddy on the highway, disrupting vehicular movement for nearly three hours. The agitation was triggered after several farmers failed to sell their produce on the final day of procurement.
Earlier, on Monday, farmers under the banner of the Navnirman Krushak Sangathan attempted to march towards Bhubaneswar to protest procurement issues. Police detained the protesters and prevented them from proceeding to the capital.
Addressing a media conference at Sankha Bhavan, BJD vice-president and former minister Sanjay Das Burma, along with former minister Rohit Pujari, accused the government of widespread mismanagement in procurement operations.
Das Burma said that although March 31 had been fixed as the last date for kharif procurement, paddy from around 1.11 lakh registered farmers remained unprocured. “This reflects the failure of the state government,” he said, adding that the administration had itself admitted the figure in the Assembly.
He alleged that farmers faced hardships due to a complicated registration process, irregular token distribution, delays in opening mandis and deductions of up to 10kg per quintal during procurement. He also claimed that 318 procurement centres could not be opened even by the end of the season.
The BJD demanded that farmers who had received tokens but could not sell their paddy be given additional time. It also sought simplification of the registration process for Rabi procurement.
Pujari accused the BJP government of going back on its poll promises, including providing an input subsidy of ₹800 per quintal and procuring paddy without deductions. He alleged that deductions of 10-14kg per quintal were being made and payments were delayed beyond the promised 48 hours.
