In an apparent bid to suppress the prevailing farmers’ movement, the State Government on Monday afternoon put two prominent farmer leaders behind the bars barely a few hours after they held a Press conference announcing about a mega farmers’ rally on December 14 in Bhubaneswar.
The Kharavela Nagar police arrested Navanirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS) convenor Akshaya Kumar and coordinator Sesadeba Nanda for cases pending against them.
The Sangathan, fighting for the cause of farmers since long, has been demanding provision of `21,600 crore in the Budget to be disbursed as pension to families of 36 lakh farmers, adequate compensation for crop loss during cyclone Phailin and subsequent floods, additional bonus of `500 per quintal of paddy over the minimum support price fixed by the Centre, effective marketing system and cold storage facility, besides provision of seed and fertiliser.
Earlier in the day, Kumar in a Press conference announced that a mega farmers’ rally would be held in front of the State Assembly on December 14 to protest the State Government’s slipshod attitude towards their demands.
Earlier in December 2013, activists of the Sangathan had blocked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s cavalcade near the Secretariat protesting the apathy of the Government towards the farming community.