Farmers are in a panic as a result of the unseasonal rain that has been pummeling various areas of Odisha for the past six days, leaving tons of paddy out in the open to soak up the moisture.
Thousands of paddy packets at Barikel Mandi, the rice bowl of Odisha, in Bargarh have reportedly been waiting for millers to hoist them for the past month. However, it has been said that the Regulated Market Committee (RMC) and the millers were indifferent to their predicament.
Farmers claimed that in spite of being tagged and given tokens, no millers had shown up to lift their paddy at the mandi. The farmers are facing uncertainty as a result of the recent rainfall.
Not just in Barikel, but also at Padampur, Paikmal, and Jharbandh mandis in the district, where the circumstances are essentially the same.
According to sources, the RMC did not provide any coverings for the paddy packets, which were kept exposed at the mandis. The farmers’ complaints, which prompted the RMC authorities to offer some polythene sheets to cover their field, began six days ago. However, the rain persisted for six days, and even with the polythene covering, moisture still got inside the packs.
“We were not given any polythene by the RMC to cover our paddy. We covered it after arranging the polythene sheets ourselves. However, it was too late, and the rain caused us to lose a lot of paddy,” farmer Dharmendra Saha remarked.
The farmers are now afraid that because of the damp paddy, when the millers arrive, they would make even more katni chhatni.
“A lot of the paddy would start germinating now that it is soaked with rain.” The millers are showing up late on purpose. In katni chhatni, they are already subtracting 2 kg of paddy. They will make 6-8 kg of katni chhatni once they notice paddy that has germinated. We’ll lose a lot, the farmer regretted.
