Sambalpur: Hundreds of farmers across Odisha’s Sambalpur district observed a 12-hour bandh from 6 am on Friday over alleged mismanagement and irregularities in the Kharif paddy procurement process.
The shutdown saw widespread closure of shops, markets, educational institutions, and colleges. However, national highways and railway services were exempted, ensuring no road blockades or rail disruptions, and the situation in the district remained largely peaceful, with no reports of untoward incidents.
The bandh call was given by Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti (POKSSS), accusing the administration of indifference towards “mounting losses of farmers” during the kharif procurement process. It alleged that lapses in token generation have left vehicles loaded with paddy stranded for days near ‘mandis,’ leading to quality deterioration and rising transport expenses.
Around 65,143 farmers have registered for the procurement in Sambalpur this season. Of them, about 40,000 were issued only one token each, which is grossly inadequate to dispose of their harvested paddy. The rest of the farmers are yet to receive even one token.
Stating that their demands were ignored for over two months, one protester told reporters that the agitation would persist until concrete corrective measures are implemented, including an overhaul of the current procurement policy.
Another protester said that a bike rally was conducted in the district with an appeal to support the farmers for a day. Ahead of the 12-hour bandh, members of POKSSS and Zilla Krushak Surakhya Sangathan had staged a symbolic protest on December 12 across the district, disrupting vehicular movement on the highways.
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