Bhubaneswar: The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP government in Odisha over the alleged shortage of fertilisers during the ongoing kharif season, accusing it of mismanagement and failure to ensure timely supply to farmers.

Addressing mediapersons, senior BJD leaders Arun Sahoo, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Sanjay Das Burma claimed that farmers across the state are facing severe hardship due to the scarcity of urea and DAP fertilisers.

Arun Sahoo criticised the BJP government's "double engine" slogan, saying it had turned into a "trouble engine" for farmers. He alleged that Odisha cultivates paddy on nearly 39 lakh hectares during the kharif season, requiring around 11.43 lakh metric tonnes of fertilisers. However, he claimed that only about 1.81 lakh metric tonnes have been supplied so far.

Sahoo further alleged that the shortage has fuelled black marketing. While a 45 kg bag of urea is officially priced at Rs 270 through cooperative societies, it is reportedly being sold for as much as Rs 600 in the black market. He questioned why farmers in Odisha are struggling to get fertilisers despite production from units such as PPL, IFFCO and the Talcher fertiliser plant, alleging that the produce is being diverted outside the state.

The BJD leader also claimed that cultivation costs have risen sharply due to higher fertiliser prices. According to him, farmers now spend between Rs 7,000 and Rs 7,500 per acre on fertilisers, compared to around Rs 3,000 per acre in 2014.

Echoing similar concerns, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak alleged that the government has virtually admitted its inability to provide adequate urea to farmers. He said replacing urea with complex fertilisers is not a viable alternative as urea contains 46 per cent nitrogen, while complex fertilisers contain only about 21 per cent nitrogen. He also alleged a lack of coordination between the Agriculture and Cooperation departments.

Sanjay Das Burma alleged that although a national framework exists for fertiliser distribution, the Odisha government has failed to ensure adequate supply to farmers during the peak transplantation season. He claimed that farmers in districts such as Sundargarh, Bargarh, Sonepur, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur are spending nights in queues outside cooperative societies to obtain fertilisers.

Das Burma further alleged that some cooperative societies are distributing fertilisers to only 30 to 35 farmers a day despite the high demand. He accused the state government of mishandling the situation and urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to convene a high-level meeting immediately to address what he described as a "major fertiliser crisis."

The BJD also demanded that fertilisers produced at the two plants in Paradeep be prioritised for Odisha's farmers instead of being supplied to other states. The party warned that it would launch statewide protests if immediate corrective measures are not taken.