Traffic was hit on all the National Highways and State Highways cris-crossing western Odisha and thousands of vehicles were left stranded on the roads as a host of farmer outfits held Rasta Roko agitation on Friday as per a call by the Paschim Odisha Kurshak Samanoya Samiti.
The agitation was held protesting the lackadaisical attitude of the State Government towards the increasing farmer suicide cases in the State and its lack of concern to compensate the deceased farmer’s kin suitably.
Hundreds of supporters of the Samiti and Balangir Zilla Krushak Sangathan held a Rasta Roko near Pathar Cheppa in Balangir-Patnagarh road under leadership of Satya Banchhor, Byasa Thanapati and others. They squatted on the road raising slogans against the apathy of the Government towards the cause of the farmers.
At Chubindh in the Bolangir -Sambalpur road, several farmers led by Zilla Krushak Sangathan president Arun Mishra held Rasta Roko. The agitators raised slogans and criticised the State Government for neglecting the farmers and overlooking the increasing farmers’ suicide cases.
While the Andhra Pradesh Government is giving Rs 1 lakh as compensation and the Karnatak Government Rs 6 lakh, the amount given by Odisha is very less, lamented the agitators. They demanded that the Government also take necessary steps to prevent deaths due to starvation.
The farmers also held a blockage at the NHs 55 and 53 near Barehipali in Sambalpur district. They demanded that the Government first accept that the farmers have been committing suicides due to crop loss and debt burden. They also warned of intensifying the agitation unless the Government took pro-active steps.
The Zilla Krushak Sakti Sangathana (KSS) of Nuapada district staged a two-hour demonstration on NH 353 at Khariar. “The Naveen Patnaik Government has miserably failed to tackle the issues of farmers of western Odisha, resulting in a large number of suicides by farmers. The agriculture policy adopted by the Government is not benefiting the farmers. On the contrary, it is pro-corporate,” said the farmers.
A demonstration was held in front of the Khariar police station. KSS convenor Sanjay Tiwari said the main reason behind increasing number of farmers’ suicides is the corporatisation of agriculture. “The Government has forced the farmers to depend on corporate sector for agricultural inputs, whose costs are rising up day by day but prices of agricultural produce have remained low,” he said.
Among others, farmer leaders Bibhuti Dash, labaneswar Bari and Ehsanulla Khan addressed.