Odisha farmer dies; family blames paddy procurement-related harassment, probe on

Kendrapara (Odisha), Feb 26 (PTI) A farmer in Odisha’s Kendrapara district died of cardiac arrest on Thursday, allegedly after facing harassment during the ongoing paddy procurement process, his family claimed.

The deceased, Trilochan Nayak (47) of Junagadi village under Rajnagar tehsil, developed chest pain after returning home from a rice mill late Wednesday night.

He was declared dead at the Iswarpur public health centre (PHC) on Thursday, family members claimed, adding that doctors told them he died of cardiac arrest.

Nayak is survived by wife and a 19-year-old son.

The incident comes amid allegations of mismanagement and harassment of farmers during paddy procurement across the state.

BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty claimed Nayak was a "victim of government apathy".

BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, at a press conference in Bhubaneswar, demanded the resignation of the state’s Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister on moral grounds over the farmer’s death.

"An administrative inquiry is underway to ascertain the veracity of the charges levelled by the family members," Kendrapara Collector Raghuram R Iyer said.

According to the family, Nayak had received a token from the local primary agriculture cooperative society (PACS) to sell his paddy between January 16 and February 24, but was allegedly not allowed to do so.

"Instead, they asked Nayak to sell it at a private miller at Dangmal, about 20 km from the village," alleged Duryadhan, Nayak’s brother.

Later, Nayak hired a tractor and took his paddy to the private miller, where he was made to wait for three days. He paid Rs 5,000 per day to the vehicle owner during the waiting period and Rs 3,000 for unloading the paddy, spending around Rs 18,000 in total, his brother claimed.

After three days, he managed to sell the produce on Wednesday.

Of the 52 quintals of paddy he had brought, the miller allegedly paid the government-fixed minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 3,100 per quintal, including Rs 800 as input assistance, for 38 quintals, while the remaining 14 quintals were allegedly sold at a lower price.

The family alleged that Nayak was distressed as he could not secure a remunerative price for his entire produce.

"He was disheartened after returning home as repaying the loan haunted him," his brother said, claiming that the alleged harassment by the PACS and the miller had left him dejected.

Meanwhile, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister K C Patra said: "The matter (farmer’s death) has come to our notice. I will send a team to Rajnagar for inquiry and action will be taken if there is any negligence.” Gobind Jena, secretary of the Dangamal PACS, rejected the allegations and claimed he had not asked Nayak to sell his produce to a private miller. PTI COR AAM AAM MNB