The Koraput administration has directed the police to be on guard 24 hours a day in the bordering areas to prevent paddy export to nearby Chhattisgarh villages. According to sources, some dishonest people buy the paddy produced by small farmers in Kundra, Borigumma, and Kotpad and ship it to the neighbouring states for a significantly lower price.
These traders purchase the paddy from the state’s farmers at a lower price and sell it in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district in order to make quick money because the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy in Chhattisgarh is Rs 2,650 per quintal, or about 600 more than in Odisha. Additionally, farmers prefer selling their paddy to these intermediaries because the mandis have not yet been set up for the year. Previously, Narendra Pradhan, the convenor of the Koraput Krushak Manch, had also complained to the district administration.
Prasanta Patnaik