Bhubaneswar, June 23 -- Hundreds of farmers from different blocks of Odisha's Bargarh district staged a protest on Tuesday outside the District Collector's office over alleged shortage of procurement tokens, claiming the issue has left large quantities of paddy unsold even as the procurement season nears its end.

According to sources, with only seven days remaining before paddy procurement concludes in the district, farmers alleged that thousands of bags of paddy are still lying at various mandis. They said the number of tokens issued is significantly lower than the cultivated land area, making it impossible for many to sell their produce.

Several farmers also claimed they have yet to receive any procurement token from the State governm...