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Sukhbir visits Khanna mandi, blames AAP govt for procurement delay
The SAD president claimed that the Punjab chief minister only acted after both Haryana and Rajasthan secured the relaxation after applying for it immediately
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said chief minister Bhagwant Mann was directly responsible for not securing relaxation in moisture content for farmers of Punjab due to which their wheat crop was not being procured.
The SAD president, who visited Asia’s largest grain market here, claimed that the chief minister only acted after both Haryana and Rajasthan secured the relaxation after applying for it immediately.
Stating that Punjab farmers had been dealt a double whammy, Badal said they first suffered due to destruction of their crops due to rain and hailstorm. Now, they were suffering because procurement agencies were not purchasing their harvested crop due to excess moisture.
Badal urged SAD halka in-charges to visit all mandis to pressure the government to start purchasing the crop. He also condemned the AAP government for not making arrangements to procure the required gunny bags for the current procurement season.
Later, Sukhbir visited the bereaved families of the victims of the Mathura boat tragedy in Ludhiana and Jagraon.
He said he will raise the issue at all appropriate forums to ensure that life jackets were made mandatory while undertaking any such boat journeys, including religious pilgrimage.
Senior SAD leaders who accompanied Sukhbir on the occasion included Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Hira Singh Gabria, Bhupinder Singh Bhinda, Jagbir Singh Sokhi, Parupkar Singh Ghumman, Jaskaran Deol at Ludhiana, and SR Kler, Chand Singh Dalla, Gurcharan Singh Grewal and Harpreet Singh Simak in Jagraon.
