Rayagada, Dec. 17 -- Farmers in Odisha's Rayagada district on Wednesday stalled the inauguration of the Kharif paddy procurement mandi for the 2025-26 season, alleging large-scale irregularities in the issuance of procurement tokens. Due to the protest, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM), who had arrived to inaugurate the mandi, returned without the inauguration.

As per reports, the protest took place at the premises of the Rayagada Regulated Market Committee, where farmers gathered and surrounded the concerned officials, demanding resolution of their grievances before any inauguration.

Farmers alleged that the token system for paddy procurement was faulty and unfair. As per the current norms, tokens have been issued for the procu...