Bhadrak: Even as principal secretary of the revenue and disaster mitigation department Dr Chandrasekhar Kumar was holding a review meeting at the Collectorate here, hundreds of farmers affiliated to the Nabanirman Krushak Sangathan staged protests over their multiple demands Friday.
Leaders of the outfit, Trilochan Panda, Satyaranjan Nayak and Artatrana Tiwari along with farmers had earlier drawn the attention of the collector towards their demands.
Collector Gyanaranjan Das had reportedly assured them of holding talks with them Friday. The farmers reached the Collectorate Friday to sort out the issues. A five-member delegation of the farmers held talks with the Collector and the revenue secretary. However, the talks remained inconclusive and the Collector assured the farmers to discuss their issues later. He said paddy procurement will start from December 10 at three places in the district and steps will be taken to sort out other issues.
The failure of the talks led to tension among the farmers and they created ruckus outside the Collectorate. Police tried to pacify them.
The main demands of the farmers included immediate opening of paddy procurement centres, solution to FAQ of paddy issue, payment of MSP to the accounts of the famers within three days and compensation to the farmers affected by cyclones Titli and Hudhud.
PNN
