No sooner was a paddy procurement centre opened in Nayagarh than the issue of ‘katni chhatni’ (weight reduction in per quintal of paddy) raised the heat in Nayagarh on Wednesday.
Nayagarh MLA Arun Sahoo, who inaugurated a mandi in the presence of senior administrative officials, had to face an embarrassing situation when farmers united under the Nabanirman Krushak Sangathan went up in arms and strongly opposed the mandi inauguration and sought to extract an assurance from Sahoo that ‘katni chhatni’ would not be done during procurement.
As per reports, scores of farmers, who brought their paddy to the centre for sale, clamoured for assurance from the legislator and the officials before the inauguration of the mandi.
However, the legislator did not extend any assurance and unveiled the mandi, which enraged the farmers. They shouted slogans against the legislator and demanded a halt in the procurement. They also warned that arbitrary ways in paddy procurement will not be allowed.
Abhimanyu Gumansingh, a farmer thundered, “There should be no katni chhatni in the procurement. Leaders and officials fail to see what kind of difficulties the farmers are facing. The officials and leaders having the luxury of spending days in AC rooms can’t understand the farmers’ plight.”
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Another farmer Maheswar Sahu observed, "This year, we have good harvest and quality crops. No katni chhatni should be done. If that happens, the office of the Collector will be locked and the whole district will witness tumult.”
Later, sub-collector Saktikant Ray said that paddy procurement centres were inaugurated today and paddy will be procured as per the guidelines under FAQ. “There will be no provision of ‘katni chhatni’ during the procurement,” he added.