Unregistered farmers lock PACS centre in Odisha's Kalahandi district

BHAWANIPATNA/JEYPORE:  Unable to get their names registered for selling paddy, farmers under Khairapadar Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS) of Kalahandi district staged dharna in front of the PACS office here on Thursday.

With the support of Krusi o Krushak Kalyan Samiti, the agitators locked the main gate of the PACS centre demanding early issue of tokens to the those farmers whose names were not registered for paddy procurement. Police however intervened later and unlocked the gate.

“Around 55 farmers were prevented from selling their paddy without any fault. Over two months have passed yet despite intervention by the district administration, the Odisha Civil Supplies Corporation (OCSC) has till date paid no heed to the matter,” said Samiti convenor Laxmikanta Das adding the agitation will continue until the issue is sorted.

Sources said, as many as 55 farmers were deprived of registering their names to sell their paddy for the ensuing kharif procurement season due to fault of the PACS. While the matter came to light in September, secretary of Khairapadar PACS Harishankar Bag was in November suspended and the data entry operator including two other contractual staff dismissed for dereliction of duty but the affected farmers are yet to get justice. 

Meanwhile, Koraput administration opened its first paddy procurement centre at SB Nuagaon village under Kotpad block of the district here on Thursday. While 41,162 farmers from 14 blocks of the district registered their names for selling paddy, the administration has  decided to open 104 mandis (procurement centres) in Jeypore and Koraput sub-divisions for the purpose in the coming days.

Around 20 LAMPS, 20 self-help groups and two pani panchayats have been assigned the duty of procuring paddy from the farmers till March 23, 2023. Inaugurating the mandi on Thursday, Jeypore sub-collector Bedbar Pradhan instructed the officials to adhere to the procurement norms through the entire process.