The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) launched a scathing attack on the BJP government in Odisha, alleging severe mismanagement and failure to ensure timely fertiliser supply during the ongoing kharif season.
Senior leaders Arun Sahoo, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, and Sanjay Das Burma accused the government of neglecting farmers’ needs and creating a statewide crisis.
Addressing the media, Arun Sahoo said the BJP’s “double engine” slogan had turned into a “trouble engine” for farmers. He claimed that Odisha cultivates paddy on nearly 39 lakh hectares, requiring around 11.43 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers, but only 1.81 lakh metric tonnes have been supplied so far.
Sahoo alleged rampant black marketing, noting that a 45‑kg bag of urea priced at Rs 270 through cooperative societies is being sold for up to Rs 600 in the black market. He questioned why fertilisers produced by PPL, IFFCO, and the Talcher plant are being diverted outside Odisha.
Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak argued that replacing urea with complex fertilisers is not viable, as urea contains 46 % nitrogen compared to only 21 % in complex variants. He also pointed to poor coordination between the Agriculture and Cooperation departments.
Sanjay Das Burma alleged that farmers in districts such as Sundaragada, Baragada, Sonepur, Kalahandi, and Nabarangpur are spending nights in queues outside cooperative societies to obtain fertilisers. He urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to convene an emergency meeting to address what he described as a “major fertiliser crisis.”
The BJD demanded that fertilisers produced at Paradeep plants be prioritised for Odisha’s farmers and warned of statewide protests if corrective measures are not taken immediately.
