Jajpur: Traders across the district are up in arms against fee collection by the Jajpur Regulated Market Committee, contrary to the government directive.

Members of the Utkal Banika Sangha, Kuakhia and the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan, Jajpur unit have threatened not to give marketing fee collected by the committee from next month.

"The committee here is collecting marketing fee from the traders at its own check gate points across the district. The much publicised toll gates abolition is on pen and paper," said sangha secretary Arjuna Sahoo. The committee officials are forcibly collecting the fee from the traders even on the national highway, he said.

The committees are established to facilitate backward and forward market integration of agricultural produce, which ultimately leads to remunerative price realisation to producers and availability of quality produce to consumers. But, the farmers are paying the marketing fee indirectly, and the committee is doing nothing for their interest," said the sangathan's district co-ordinator Nimai Charan Ray.

Jajpur additional district magistrate and committee president Brajabandhu Bhola said: "The government has abolished the check gates. But, it has never asked us not to collect the marketing fee from the traders within the committee's limits."

"We are taking the marketing fee at one point. If a trader does not give the fee here, he is required to give it at another point on the route. The committee collects it from the traders and give it to the government. More importantly, they are collecting the fee while giving a printed receipt," said Bhola.

He said some unscrupulous traders were allegedly threatening the committee officials with dire consequences if they demanded market fee to the formers. "Some unscrupulous traders have threatened to kill the committee officials on duty," he said. Bhola said he had requested the police superintendent to provide them security while on duty.