Wheat lifting picks up pace in Haryana

As per the claims of the government, the procurement on the second day picked up pace even as the commission agents in certain districts, including Jind, Bhiwani, Rewari and Rohtak, refused to participate in the procurement process

Haryana government on Tuesday said that 1.82 lakh MT of wheat was procured from 16,546 farmers at different purchase centres across the state.

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As per the claims of the government, the procurement on the second day picked up pace even as the commission agents in certain districts, including Jind, Bhiwani, Rewari and Rohtak, refused to participate in the procurement process.

In Karnal district and adjoining areas, commission agents held a protest in support of their demands. They have been mounting pressure on the government to revert to old procurement method, a demand that the state government has dubbed as ‘unreasonable’.

According to Sanjeev Kaushal, additional chief secretary, agriculture and farmers’ welfare, 2.84 lakh MT of wheat has been procured from 25,559 farmers in the state since Monday, when the wheat procurement began.

On Tuesday, the government procured 23,934 MT of mustard from 8,318 farmers at 163 purchase centres. So far, the government has procured a total of 1.5 lakh MT of mustard from 55,391 farmers.

Arhtiyas stage protest in Karnal

Meanwhile, arhtiyas in Karnal held a protest and accused the officials of not allowing farmers to bring their produce to the mandis. They also threatened to declare an indefinite strike.

In Indri grain market too, commission agents launched an agitation, accusing the officials of adopting ‘pick and choose’ formula in calling farmers for bringing wheat to the mandis.

However, there was no major impact on the procurement operations in the district.

Officials involved in the procurement process said the commission agents were protesting against the transparency in procurement and steps such as e-kharid system.

Karnal DC Nishant Yadav said, “Most of the issues raised by the commission agents have been sorted out, but we cannot allow the farmers of Uttar Pradesh to sell their produce in our mandis as procuring the produce of local farmers is our priority.”