Farmers left helpless after paddy sale stops

JEYPORE: Farmers are running from pillar to post to sell paddy in the mandis as the District Civil Supply Corporation (DCSC) has stopped procurement of the crop midway in Koraput district. The procurement was halted apparently after DCSC suffered internal crisis. The Chief Supply Officer in the district, B C Dash, was arrested by Vigilance sleuths recently for accepting bribe. The district Collector has not appointed or deputed any other official to the post.

The irregularities in the Civil Supply department and lack of coordination between the office and the Primary Agriculture Cooperatives (PACs) had forced the department to stop procurement, sources said.The DCSC was purchasing the crop through PACs in different areas till the first week of March.

According to sources, the State Government had set a target to procure at least 16.95 lakh quintals from the district in the current marketing year. The administration had opened  46 mandis in Jeypore and Koraput sub-divisions to felicitate procurement of kharif crop from at least 20,000 farmers.

About 14 lakh quintal paddy were procured so far. The department had earlier decided to procure the crop till the end of April.In such a scenario, farmers are visiting various offices to lodge their grievances. The officials in PACs told farmers that the DCSC had not ordered the millers to take the paddy from mandis for custom milling.

Meanwhile, different pani panchayat leaders of Jeypore, Kotpad, Borrigumma and Kundra areas demanded that the Collector should ensure crop’s procurement in the district as per the Government norms. They alleged that the non-functioning of the mandis had led to distress sale in rural areas. Sources in the DCSC clarified that paddy procurement process would start only after the posting of the new District Civil Supply officer or an in-charge.