The BJP on Sunday demanded that the State Government provide a bonus of Rs 500 bonus per quintal paddy to farmers during procurement besides the minimum support price.
The party also demanded supply paddy seeds as per the requirement of the farmers during the Kharif season. BJP State general secretary and former Minister Manmohan Samal slammed both the State and Central Governments for adopting “anti-farmer” policies by not providing seeds, fertilisers and water. Both the Governments are conspiring against farmers and working to protect the interests of the industries, he said.
The Governments of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are giving bonus to farmers, but the Odisha Government is silent on the issue, he said. Due to the lack of attention to the farm sector, farmers are not able to repay their loans and are forced to sell their lands to industries and also to commit suicide, he said.
The State Government has failed to provide required seeds, resulting in non-cultivation of large areas, he said. While there is requirement of 26.5 lakh quintals of seeds, the Government decided to provide only 6.5 lakh quintals. And a mere 3.5 lakh quintals of seeds has so far been supplied, he pointed out.
Samal also said that there is rampant distress sale of paddy, particularly in western Odisha due to non-procurement and delay in procurement by Government agencies, resulted in the death of a farmer Nabi Durga of Karli village under Junagarh block of Kalahandi district. “The victim of delayed procurement waited for eight days to sell eight quintals of paddy in a Mandi, but failed to do so,” Samal said.
Samal lamented that despite the distress sale of paddy, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has not bothered to hold a meeting to review the situation during the last four years.