Bargarh: In a bizarre turn of events, approximately 15 bags of paddy placed at the Bargarh Collector’s office premises as part of a protest yesterday vanished overnight, leaving farmers shocked and furious.
The farmers, primarily from the Sahuratikra Market Yard under the Atabira Regulated Market Committee, had staged the symbolic protest on Thursday by dumping and leaving the 15 bags of paddy at the Collectorate to highlight their grievances.
They allege that despite waiting for over three months, their paddy stocks remain unregistered and unsold at the market yard, preventing them from realizing fair prices or proceeding with sales amid delays in the paddy procurement and registration process.
When the group returned Friday morning to follow up on their demands, they discovered the paddy bags missing from the premises. Expressing deep worry and suspicion over how the produce could disappear from a government office compound, the farmers immediately rushed to the Bargarh Town Police Station and lodged a written complaint, demanding an investigation into the mysterious disappearance.
This incident has further intensified resentment among the protesting farmers, who are already frustrated with prolonged delays in paddy procurement across various mandis in the district.
Farmers have voiced that the vanishing of their protest paddy not only represents a material loss but also symbolizes official apathy toward their plight.
