Violence sparked in three locations on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town, on Thursday as hundreds of potato farmers, who crowded in front of cold storages to collect bonds to store their produce, resorted to protests after alleging anomalies in the distribution of the bonds.

Protesters ransacked a cold storage, torched the office of a weigh bridge and damaged it, pelted stones and blocked roads, demanding that all should get adequate bonds to store their produce.

There are four cold storages on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town and 20 in all in the district. Of the four near the town, two are near 73 More, a prominent crossing, and the other two are at Rahutbagan and Bahadur. Thursday’s protests were reported from mainly the one in Bahadur, one of the cold storages near 72 More and the one in Rahutbagan.

Cold storage bonds are distributed to farmers on first-come, first-serve basis, depending on demand. The charge depends on factors such as demand that year, the number of months a farmer stores his harvest, among others. Sources said the demand for bonds has risen this year because while the 20 cold storages in Jalpaiguri district can store 3.2 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes, around 11.5 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes have been harvested in the district this year.

On Thursday, as the farmers stood in queue to collect the bonds, employees of cold storages distributing them told farmers they need proofs like farmland deeds, kisan credit cards or krishak bandhu cards.

“This was to confirm that the person collecting the bond is a farmer, not a middleman. Some middlemen do take the bonds and sell them to farmers at a profit,” said a cold storage owner.

But asking for identity proofs led to confusion and anger among farmers, especially those who had farmed the crop in someone else's land.

“Cold storage authorities are asking for documents and have said that one can keep only 100 sacks (25 kilos in a sack) of potatoes against each bond. This is unacceptable,” said Utpal Sarkar, a farmer who had joined the protests.

By 11am, the farmer protests had halted traffic at two adjoining roads which connect Jalpaiguri town.

Suddenly, a group turned violent and broke open the gate of the storage at Bahadur. They ransacked the office and a weigh bridge (where loads of vehicles are measured) and set on fire the office.

A worker clears the debris later. Telegraph photo

A fire engine rushed to the spot and doused the flames. A team from Kotwali police station brought the situation under control.

Stones and bricks were also pelted in other cold storages, alleged representatives of their owners’ association.

As protests continued, police officers spoke with farmers and eventually dispersed them in the afternoon. “We want to confirm that only farmers get bonds. The distribution of bonds is going on across the district and there have been no problems so far. We are trying to find out what led to today’s situation,” said Moumita Godara Basu, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri.

Kishor Marodia, a representative of cold storage owners, said they met the district magistrate.

“We are distributing bonds under the administration's guidelines, but still some people are resorting to violence. We have urged the administration to deploy police force and take other steps to ensure that the distribution is done without any hassle,” he said.