Malkangiri: Around 300 farmers of the district visited the Collector’s Office here Monday and filed a written complaint demanding purchase of more paddy from the farmers.
The district administration had decided to buy 4,000 quintals of paddy from two mandis at Bhejaguda gram panchayat, but only 2,000 quintals are being bought from the mandis, following which the farmers have shown their displeasure and met the Collector Monday at the Grievance Cell of his office.
According to the complaint filed by the cultivators, 330 farmers had registered their names to sell their paddy at the mandis. It was also decided by the district administration officials that mandis would be open Wednesday and Sunday in a week where 2,000 quintals of paddy would be purchased from the farmers each day. However, the Large Area Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPS) authorities shut down the mandis on Wednesday while only 2000 quintals of paddy was purchased Sunday.
The farmers also alleged that the mandis have opened only four times, though a month has passed.
In this regard, Collector Manish Agarwal held a discussion with the farmers and assured them that 3,000 quintals of paddy would be purchased from a mandi, due to lack of transport facilities. Agarwal also said that the mandis would be made to open until all the registered farmers have sold their paddy.
It’s worth mentioning that hundreds of farmers of Jharapalli and Pedakonda panchayats in Malkangiri district staged a blockade at Sindrimal on Malkangiri-Jeypore road alleging mismanagement in procuring paddy at mandis Sunday. However, the road blockade was lifted after the District Civil Supply officer Abhimanyu Behera, Malkangiri IIC Soumendra Sekhar Tripathy and other officials of the Supply Department had assured paddy purchase and deposit the amount in respective bank accounts within 24 hours.
PNN