Bhadrak ryots in dire straits

BHADRAK: In the absence of adequate number of procurement centres, farmers of the district are reportedly disposing of their paddy stock at much less than the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,080.  Out of 225 procurement centres that were to be opened by the administration by December 10, only seven have been opened by the District Civil Supplies office. To cash in on the situation are middlemen and agents from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh who buy paddy at much cheaper rates.  The district-level procurement committee had on November 24 decided to open 225 procurement centres in seven blocks from December 1. The procurement was then postponed to December 10 over infrastructure problems. However, only seven centres have been opened so far.The district had set a target of procuring 92,000 quintals of rice this year. Civil Supplies Officer (CSO) Satyanarayan Panigrahi said all the procurement centres had not been opened for lack of funds. He said that the seven centres have started procuring paddy from December 10 and till Monday, 19,380 quintals were procured. Meanwhile, alleging nexus between the procurement officials and middlemen, farmers of the district under Krushak Sangha have threatened to hit the streets if the district administration failed to open procurement centres in a week.They met the district collector on Tuesday over the issue.