Bhubaneswar, Jan. 4 -- Farmers in Odisha's Keonjhar district staged a road blockade protesting irregularities in paddy procurement at the Karanjia LAMPS under Champua block, on Sunday. The agitation was triggered after paddy purchase operations failed to begin despite official assurances from the department concerned.

According to the local farmers, they were informed that procurement would start from last Saturday. Acting on the notification, cultivators arrived at the procurement centre of LAMPS with their produce, only to find that paddy buying had not commenced. The delay and lack of clear communication led to growing frustration among the farmers.

Expressing their resentment, the aggrieved cultivators blocked the Champua-Karanjia m...