As many as 50 farmers, including women, from Nuagaon Cooperative Society under Gadakujanga Panchayat resorted to a hunger strike in front of the Collector office here on Tuesday, demanding a probe into the society loan misappropriation issue and action against the society secretary who had bungled about Rs 20 lakh after granting fake loans against farmers.
According to the farmers allegations, in last Kharif season society secretary Narayan Barik had persuaded them for obtaining agriculture loans. As a result, they had applied for the loan comprising groups.
However, the secretary had granted loan but the borrowers were not paid the full amount of the sanctioned loan.
Even by fabricating documents and cheques, the accused secretary had withdrawn money from the farmers’ account. When the victim farmers approached to the secretary, he started to avoid them. Later, they moved to Abhyachandpur police station but cops refused to lodge case against the secretary, said a farmer.
The farmers had approached the Collector Jagatsinghpur on November 20 last seeking a probe and action against secretary but even after 45 days, no action had been taken. Consequently, the victims resorted to a hunger strike, informed farmers’ leader Satyaranjan Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, two agitating persons, including a woman, Bini Sethy, went unconscious at the spot, but no medical assistance was given to them. Sub Collector reached at the spot and held a discussion.