Farmers in the MSP Operations area of Mohla-Manpur district are raising aggressive tones, insisting on reopening a paddy procurement centre in the Naxal-infested tribal area in Manpur block. Farmers’ groups protested at the Manipur block headquarters and handed over a memorandum to the local SDM stating that if their demands were not met, they would stage small and large protests.
The problem is due to the shutdown of the paddy procurement centre that was relocated last year to Manpur block headquarters, some 5-6 kilometres away in a forested village of Tohe. Due to this relocation, farmers have had to make more travels and encounter more problems when selling their paddy. Directly affected farmers from nine gram panchayats in the region are protesting, saying this change has become extremely cumbersome for them. Comparatively, the farmers complained to the SDM about their treatment and conveyed that they were ready to intensify the protest if their demands were not met.
This incident comes after a protest that happened in the Aamagaadh police station area; farmers of the Korchatola protested through a Hunger strike and demonstration the day after the paddy procurement started in the state. Government officials’ requests for the procurement centre in Korchatola compelled the government to open a sub-procurement centre in the area. However, the recent demand to reopen the Manpur procurement centre is a new problem for the administration as farmer grievances persist.
Such pressures reinforce demands from farmers of the district as the agricultural community struggles with some general needs in society. The elimination of logistic and economic burdens appearing during protests may be addressed as a positive result, though it also demonstrates the escalating conflict between governmental decisions and rural farmers’ requirements in the region.
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