The ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Wednesday hit the streets against the Centre’s failure to ensure adequate supply of fertilisers to the state that has hit farming activities badly.
A delegation of BJD leaders later met governor Prof Ganeshi Lal to lodge their protest against the Centre’s apathetic attitude towards the state.
The BJD’s protest coincided with the beginning of Odisha Assembly’s monsoon session with focus on a possibility of a drought in the state. The House witnessed hullabaloo on the issue forcing the Speaker to adjourn proceedings frequently in the morning session. However, normal business resumed later with MLAs discussing the drought issue. The monsoon session will continue till September 9.
The House witnessed uproar when Speaker S.N. Patro had refused to cancel the Question Hour and instead took up the drought issue through a special discussion. This forced the Speaker to adjourn the House.
Agriculture minister Arun Kumar Sahoo has assured the House that a contingent crop action plan has been prepared to face the possible drought in Odisha. He described in detail how the state has been hit by scanty rainfall
Farmer-related issues took the centrestage both inside and outside the Assembly. While it was the prospects of a drought that generated heat in the House outside the temperature rose on the issue of the Centre’s failure to supply the required quantity of fertilisers to the state.
“Following repeated requests from Odisha, the Centre had agreed to provide adequate urea and DAP to farmers. But it has failed to keep its commitment. Now lakhs of farmers are suffering,” said BJD’s senior leader Sanjay Kumar Das Burma while protesting on the farmers’ issue near the Raj Bhavan.
He said the farmers have cultivated paddy and non-paddy crops on 61.96 hectares of land. “An agreed action plan was finalised between the state government and the Centre on the issue of providing fertilisers to farmers within a stipulated time. But the Centre failed miserably,” he said.
However, BJP termed it as a blatant lie. “The ruling BJD has failed on all fronts. In order to hide their failure, they have taken up the issue of farmers. As per the Odisha government’s figure, a .364 lakh metric tonne of urea, 1.85 lakh metric tonne of DAP and other fertilisers have been provided to the state by the Centre. But the state has failed to distribute it to farmers. Now they are shifting the blame on the BJP,” said BJP’s state general secretary Golak Mohapatra.