Bhubaneswar: A hunger strike by farmer leader Akshaya Kumar, which he commenced on Feb 15 over alleged paddy procurement problems, entered its 9th day on Monday. He also wrote to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to solve the issue.
Kumar, national coordinator of Navnirman Krushak Sangathan, said, “We informed the govt about the massive irregularities in paddy procurement through peaceful means, but we saw only the helplessness of officials to contain the problem.”
“The hunger strike aims to make the govt aware of the issue and impose pressure on them to take action against the people involved in irregularities,” he added.
He said the govt should stop ‘katni chhatni’, the practice of deducting 5-6 kg per quintal of paddy during procurement. “Farmers are getting exploited over meeting the fair average quality (FAQ) norms for paddy. A secret squad should be formed to check katni chhatni in mandis,” he added.
In his letter to Majhi, Kumar said the CM can stop the practice and irregularities in paddy procurement. “The hunger strike will continue until the govt engages in discussions and reaches a conclusion,” he said.
Officials concerned could not be contacted for comments on the issue.