Bhubaneswar, Dec. 1 -- Paddy procurement in Sambalpur resumed after several days of disruption caused by a standoff between rice millers and the district administration on Monday. The process restarted smoothly at the Bareipali mandi and other procurement centres, with paddy-laden vehicles moving to various mills after weighing.

Mandis across the district had opened on the 28th of the month, but procurement stalled on the first day as millers refused to accept paddy stocks. Following a meeting between farmer organisations and the administration, it was agreed that procurement would resume. When vehicles carried paddy from mandis to mills the next day, millers once again declined to accept the stock, insisting their demands be addressed f...