Traffic to Sambalpur city on Friday was completely stalled for three hours following a road blockade by farmers at different entry points in support of their four-point charter of demands.

The national highways, state highways and other roads connecting the city were blocked at 17 different points by the agitating farmers from 10am to 1pm. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded at different points because of the agitation. The blockades were organized at Bamra, Rengali, Maneswar , Jujomura, Kuchinda and Jamenkira blocks of the district.

Farmers of the district, under the banner of Sambalpur Zilla Krushak Surakhaya Sangathan, are on the warpath for the past two months demanding proper payment under the Prime Minister’s Crop Insurance scheme for their crop loss and declaration of drought area for damage to standing crops in the non-irrigated areas of the district.

Byomokesh Thakur, the secretary of the organisation, claimed that 32 different farmers’ organisations had been supporting the agitation. The insurance companies had assured to pay the compensation for the crop loss within 45 days but the farmers had not received their dues of the last kharif season. The farmers had been demanding payment of insurance amount according to the cutting of crops and not on the basis of average calculations, Thakur said.

“Last season, 70 per cent of crops in 12 panchayat areas was reportedly damaged but the insurance companies had paid only 11.4 per cent,” he alleged.

In the first phase, the Sangathan staged a month-long dharna in front of the Sambalpur district collectorate till October 12 and suspended their agitation for Durga Puja. “The third phase will be launched shortly,” Ashok Pradhan, a veteran farmer leader told The Telegraph.