Farmer Dies After Alleged Harassment At Paddy Procurement Centre In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A farmer from Junagadi village under Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district allegedly died after facing prolonged harassment during paddy procurement, his family members claimed on Thursday. The deceased, Trilochan Nayak, reportedly suffered a heart attack shortly after returning from a rice mill where he had been struggling for days to get his produce accepted.

According to family members, Trilochan had received a procurement token message on January 16. However, despite repeated visits to the cooperative society over nearly 40 days, his paddy was not accepted. Instead, the society secretary allegedly asked him to take his produce directly to Ramchandi Rice Mill, bearing the transportation cost himself.

At the mill, Trilochan and his brother waited for three days and nights, guarding their paddy in difficult conditions without proper food, water, or shelter. His family alleged that the mill authorities accepted the produce only after deducting 6 kg per quintal and taking Rs 3,000 as payment. In total, around 9 quintals were deducted, causing an estimated loss of nearly Rs 18,000.

“My brother had a token dated January 16, but the society kept refusing to accept the paddy. Finally, we were told to bring it on February 25, but they asked us to transport it to the mill at our own expense,” said his brother, Duryodhan Nayak. He added that they spent nearly Rs 5,000 per day on vehicle charges and stayed at the mill for three days under severe hardship.

“After we paid Rs 3,000, they weighed the paddy and made heavy deductions. My brother was under immense stress and kept complaining of chest pain. Soon after returning home, he died,” Duryodhan alleged.

The family blamed the procurement process for causing severe mental and physical distress that led to Trilochan’s death.

However, Dangamala cooperative society secretary Gobinda Jena denied the allegations. “We have no such information. He had already sold his paddy at the society, and his ID was scanned on February 14. There should be records of the transaction. Neither the farmer nor his family had lodged any complaint,” Jena said.