Bhubaneswar: Several farmer organisations today demonstrated near the Assembly here demanding full crop-loan waiver, even as a farmer from Bargarh district committed suicide last night because he could not repay his loan.
"We will intensify our agitation if the state and central government do not fulfil our demand for loan waiver and remunerative price for our produces," threatened Ashok Pradhan, leader of the Paschim Odisha Krushak Samananwaya Samiti, which spearheaded the agitation.
Holding banners and shouting slogans, hundreds of farmers, under the aegis of Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanaya Samiti, staged a krushak adhikar chetabani samavesh.
A delegation of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sangharsh Samiti from Bengal also joined the rally
Several national Left and other organisations also took part in the protest organised by the Odisha chapter of the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Samanwaya Samiti. National leaders such as Yogendra Yadav and Hanan Mollah spoke at the event.
"Farmers are committing suicide across the country because they are not getting remunerative price for their produce anywhere. The state and central governments are not taking steps for raising the minimum support price, preventing distress sale and reducing their loan burden," said Yadav, who called the Narendra Modi government as the "worst enemy of the farmers".
The farmer leaders rued the apathetic attitude of the state government towards the farming community at a time it has given "Puja gift" to its employees and doubled the salary of the MLAs and ministers.
Modi had promised to make the minimum support price by one-and-a-half times during campaigning for the 2014 elections. However, the Centre had raised the minimum support price of paddy by a mere Rs 80 per quintal, triggering protests by the BJD and the Congress.
Even the Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution to fix the minimum support price for the paddy at Rs 2,930 per quintal.
Agriculture minister Damodar Rout said: "The minimum support price is fixed by the Centre. We have recommended it to make it Rs 2,930 per quintal. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not giving an appointment to the all-party delegation of the Assembly."
On the demand for loan waiver, Rout said: "The Reserve Bank of India is not agreeing to the crop loan waiver. It is seen that on many occasions, crop loans are being used for other purposes (not agriculture)."
However, one farmer after another has been ending their life in the state allegedly due to their failure to repay loans.
Last Sunday, a farmer from Bargarh district had committed suicide allegedly due to crop loss in Tora village. On Wednesday, another farmer had killed himself.
Family sources said Dharei had cultivated paddy on nine acres. He had taken a Rs 2 lakh loan from a co-operative society to buy fertilisers, pesticides and meet other expenses. But he was upset following a pest attack and scanty rainfall.
