Farmers under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) (Tikait) blocked the Panchkula-Dehradun highway (NH-344) at Aurangabad village in Yamunanagar on Sunday, criticising the state government over multiple issues faced during the ongoing paddy procurement.
A group of farmers also locked the gates of the market committee at the Gharaunda grain market in Karnal, alleging slow purchase of their crop.
In Yamunanagar, BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait arrived for annual meeting of the district units, to discuss paddy purchase, increasing the moisture content in paddy from 17% to 22%, increasing state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane from ₹415 per quintal to ₹600, a rollback of the Indo-US trade deal and others.
After the meeting, Tikait along with the state unit led by Ratan Mann demanded that a senior official from the district administration must arrive at the venue to receive their memorandum. However, when no official arrived, the farmer leader drove a tractor to a nearby intersection along with his supporters to block NH-344 and obstructed traffic movement.
The blockade was lifted after more than an hour, following the arrival of Jagadhri SDM Vishwanath, who sat among the farmers for nearly 30 minutes. Tikait said they were assured that the farmers will meet Yamunanagar deputy commissioner (DC), who will arrange a meeting with the state government.
{{/usCountry}}The blockade was lifted after more than an hour, following the arrival of Jagadhri SDM Vishwanath, who sat among the farmers for nearly 30 minutes. Tikait said they were assured that the farmers will meet Yamunanagar deputy commissioner (DC), who will arrange a meeting with the state government.
{{/usCountry}}“They must understand what the farmers are facing. The crop is ready at the field and there is no purchase. If there is no improvement, we will take a decision at our next meeting on October 12,” Tikait said.
The SDM said that farmers were assured that all their local issues will be resolved at the earliest, while others will be forwarded to the state government.
In Karnal, responding to a call by the Haryana Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Morcha, farmers associated with BKU (Sir Chhotu Ram) staged a protest at the Gharaunda grain market alleging delays in paddy procurement and issues regarding portal verification.
Led by farmer leaders Bahadur Mehla Baldi and Jagdeep Aulakh, the agitated farmers locked the Market Committee office. Baldi said that the state government had promised to begin paddy procurement on September 29 but heaps of paddy were still lying unsold in the market.
The leaders alleged that the procurement process is being hampered by the lack of portal verification. They said that delays or quality-related standards could cause farmers to suffer financial losses regarding the fair price of their crops.
In Karnal, Haryana Congress affairs in-charge Sanjay Dutt and Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Rao Narender Singh visited the new grain market on NH-44 to take stock of the paddy procurement arrangements.
The Congress leaders interacted with farmers, commission agents and labourers and took detailed feedback on problems related to procurement, lifting and payments.
Dutt said that farmers across Haryana are reaching mandis with their produce, but are being forced to struggle even to sell their crops. “In some places, procurement is being delayed, while in others, the lifting arrangements have broken down, and farmers are being made to wait for their payments,” he alleged.
In a statement, Karnal DC Anand Kumar Sharma said that all preparations have been completed by the administration in view of paddy procurement. He said that till Saturday, 36,703 metric tons of paddy had arrived in mandis of the district, out of which only 2,867 had been purchased by various agencies.
Kurukshetra DC Vishram Kumar Meena said that as per the instructions of chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, every grain of farmers’ crop will be procured.