Kesinga: Cotton farmers staged a dharna Sunday near a spinning mill here in Kalahandi district over the problem in parking of loaded vehicles and delay in procurement and payment.
Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has been procuring cotton from farmers here. The Collector had ordered the Regulated Marketing Committee for daily procurement of cotton at Kesinga and Karlapada. As per provision, farmers pay Rs 200 to the RMC before delivering cotton to the CCI.
But for the last five days, cotton procurement has stopped while farmers have been guarding their produce in the open amid chilly weather.
The government has fixed the MSP of cotton at Rs 5,450 per quintal, but the CCI is allegedly buying it at Rs 5,100 to Rs 5,246.
The farmers are deprived of the right price of their produce. Farmers also alleged that the CCI cheats them by reducing 30 kg per quintal in weight. Poor and marginal farmers carry cotton to the spinning mille on their carts and have to wait for days together for procurement.
From November, 2018 to January 20, 2019, the CCI has procured 25,900 quintals of cotton. The procurer is supposed to clear the payment within three days, but it was alleged that 25 days have passed since procurement, but the farmers have not received their payments.
Farmers also alleged that CCI is not procuring cotton in time and as a result, carts, trucks, tractors laden with cotton lie parked for days together on either side of the road from Kesinga College to the spinning mill.
Farmers have urged the administration to allot them a vacant place for parking of their vehicles.
Upset over the problem, farmers staged a dharna in front of the main gate of the spinning mill.
They alleged that they have been facing a lot of trouble in guarding their produce for days together in the winter nights. As network has been slow, payment clearance is said to be delayed, they added.
The farmers lamented that when they have been facing such problems, the MD of the spinning mill stays in Bhubaneswar without care and concern for their hardship.
PNN