The stalemate over paddy procurement continued for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, prompting farmers to stage protests and block roads in Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts.
Though the Haryana government had announced to start procurement from September 27, procurement agencies and rice-millers had refused to cooperate in the process. This left the farmers to suffer as many had already turned up at the mandis with their produce.
Waiting in vain with their unsold crop, hundreds of angry farmers, protesting under the banner of BKU (Charuni), blocked the roads by parking their tractor-trailers. Traffic on national highway 44 in Karnal and Karnal-Yamunanagar state highway remained affected for several hours on Wednesday. Dharnas were also staged outside the market committee offices of Assandh, Taraori and Nilokheri grain market, where the government’s effigy was burnt.
In Ambala, protesting farmers blocked the Ambala-Hisar Highway while in Yamunanagar, protests were held outside various mandis in Chhachhrauli, Jagadhari, Radaur etc.
Jagdeep Singh, a farmer, said he had come to the grain market five days ago, but his crop had not been procured so far.
Charuni gives ultimatum
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni said they have given 24 hours’ ultimatum to the government and that they will block all the roads if their produce is not procured by 1pm on Thursday.
Officials of the market committees, meanwhile, claimed that they had started the procurement process. Karnal market committee secretary Sunder Kamboj claimed that 225 quintals of paddy was procured at Karnal grain market by the Hafed on Wednesday. Even in Kurukshetra, deputy commissioner Sharandeep Kaur Barar claimed that 10,190 MT paddy was procured by government agencies, of which 316 MT had already been lifted.
{{/usCountry}}Officials of the market committees, meanwhile, claimed that they had started the procurement process. Karnal market committee secretary Sunder Kamboj claimed that 225 quintals of paddy was procured at Karnal grain market by the Hafed on Wednesday. Even in Kurukshetra, deputy commissioner Sharandeep Kaur Barar claimed that 10,190 MT paddy was procured by government agencies, of which 316 MT had already been lifted.
{{/usCountry}}In some grain markets, farmers accused the government agencies of not procuring their produce despite the moisture content being below 16%. Yamunanagar deputy commissioner Mukul Kumar in a statement said that Haryana CM Manohar Lal has increased the purchase limit of paddy from 25 quintals to 30 quintals and if a farmer brings 10% extra grain. that will be purchased too.
(with inputs from Bhavey Nagpal in Ambala)