Congress threatens stir on seed supply

BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has threatened to launch a statewide agitation if the State Government fails to provide seeds to the farmers in time through the panchayat seed centres.  Chairman of the Orissa Pradesh Kissan Khet Mazdoor Congress Amiya Kumar Patnaik alleged that though the State needed 30 lakh quintal seeds for cultivation of paddy on 40 lakh hectares, the State Government has only two lakh quintal seeds with it. Patnaik alleged that though the State Government had decided to provide seeds to the farmers by opening seed centres in each of the 6,234 panchayats through the State Seeds Corporation, no steps has so far been taken to implement the decision. The State Government is also yet to decide on the rate of the seeds. Farmers who have faced crop damage due to natural calamities during the last two seasons are now a disappointed lot, he said. The State-level function of Akshaya Tritiya was held at Sendha village in Riamal block of Deogarh district on Tuesday.