Paddy lying unsold for seven days in Koraput mandis, farmers stage dharna

Farmers at Tarabhata mandi under Koraput’s Borigumma block staged a dharna demanding to lift their kharif paddy from mandis.

The farmers alleged that the government and the supplies department have turned a blind eye to their plight. The millers are inordinately delaying to lift their paddy, alleged the farmers.

Not only the delay, the farmers alleged that the millers resort to ‘katni chatni’ whenever they come to buy their paddy. They procure only 80-90 percent of their paddy and leave the rest of the paddy incurring loss to the farmers, they alleged.

“I was issued a token on December 15. But my paddy is still lying unsold. Even if the millers come to the mandi to lift paddy, they are leaving 10 percent paddy citing sub-standard crop. What will we do with that paddy, where do we sell it? asked a farmer.

Another farmer said, “Our mandi here at Tarabhata was opened on December 22. The Supplies department has not brought any analysis machine to test the FAQ of our paddy.”

Sources said that despite the announcement by the department to start the Kharif mandis on December 14, it was actually started just a week back on December 22 after several protests by the farmers.

However, unfortunately, thousands of packets of paddy are still lying in the open at several mandis in the district.