CUTTACK: Thousands of farmers under the banner of Nabanirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS) on Wednesday staged a mass protest in front of Cuttack Collector’s office demanding price, prestige and pension. Around 10,000 farmers, including women, from all 14 blocks of Cuttack district holding placards and banners took out a rally from Khannagar to Collectorate where they staged a demonstration. Leaders of the farmers’ forum alleged that both the State and Central governments are indifferent to their long-standing demands.
“We have come here to give an ultimatum to the State Government through the Collector to take immediate steps for fulfilling our demands, including appropriate price for farming produces, cold storage facilities, monthly pension and `5,000 per quintal of paddy as minimum support price (MSP),” said State Coordinator of NKS Akshay Kumar.
The protest will be intensified across the State by paralysing vehicular movements, if the Government fails to fulfil the demands at the earliest, he warned. Later, they submitted a memorandum to the Government through Collector Sushant Kumar Mohapatra. The traffic on Kathajodi Ring Road came to a standstill for about three hours due to the farmers’ rally.