Odisha govt asks officials to smoothen supply chain as farmers seek more fertiliser

Bhubaneswar, Sep 1 (PTI) The Odisha government on Monday directed the authorities to maintain coordination among departments involved in the fertiliser distribution process and, smoothen the supply chain.

The instruction came amid criticism by the opposition BJD of alleged mismanagement in the fertiliser distribution mechanism and protests by farmers.

Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, who chaired a meeting in this regard, directed the district collectors to take steps to ensure proper supply of fertilisers to farmers.

The meeting was attended by officials of the Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Department, Cooperation Department, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, and Managing Director, Markfed (Odisha State Co-operative Marketing Federation Limited) and others.

The meeting resolved that there was no dearth of fertiliser in the state, but the distribution has been hit in places due to delay in transportation of materials.

“Maintain proper coordination in the supply chain, fertiliser stock and distribution system to ensure timely supply of fertilisers to the farmers as per their requirements,” Ahuja said.

The state government maintained that so far, 11,15,369 metric tons of fertiliser have been made available to the state, of which 8,67,000 metric tons have been sold. As the monsoon has been satisfactory this year, its demand has increased, the meeting was informed.

Besides, to ensure timely delivery of fertilisers to the state, proper coordination is being made with the Agriculture Department, the Railway and road transport authorities to facilitate the movement of manures. The enforcement agencies are also told to expedite raids to curb artificial shortage and black marketing of manure, an official statement said.

Meanwhile, the BJD, which has already hit the streets along with farmers in Ganjam district, alleged that the measures of the state government to mitigate the fertiliser crisis in the state were "too little and too late", asserting that farmers deserve proactive planning, not "last-minute firefighting".

The party's remarks came after the state government initiated action against some fertiliser dealers and shop owners on Sunday on the charge of irregular supply that led to farmers' agitation in some places.

Leader of the Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, had written to Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister J P Nadda seeking his intervention after farmers protested in Malkangiri, Ganjam and Nabarangpur.

BJD vice-president Atanu S Nayak, at a press conference on Monday, claimed that farmers are distressed due to the fertiliser shortage, and black marketing is rampant.

“When the price of a bag containing 45 kg of urea is around Rs 260, it is sold in the black market at the rate of Rs 800 to Rs 1000,” Nayak alleged.

He said farmers in different parts of the state have been protesting due to non-availability of fertilisers.

BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty claimed it was evident that the state government was forced to initiate action against black-marketing only after Patnaik's letter to Nadda.

"While the response shows the government has finally woken up to the crisis faced by lakhs of farmers, the measures announced appear too little and too late to address the gravity of the situation on the ground," Mohanty said.

Opposition Congress president Bhakta Charan Das also expressed concern over the fertiliser scarcity and blamed the state’s BJP government for that.

He said the farmers, instead of working in their fields during the peak period of the monsoon, are hitting the streets demanding fertiliser. PTI AAM ACD AAM NN