Farmers angry as NAFED yet to make payment for mustard

FARMERS IN Mhow are an agitated lot because of the inordinate delay by NAFED in making payments to the tune of more than Rs 1.50 crore after purchasing mustard from them.

FARMERS IN Mhow are an agitated lot because of the inordinate delay by NAFED in making payments to the tune of more than Rs 1.50 crore after purchasing mustard from them.

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It has been over a month that the farmers of Mhow tehsil had given their entire crop of mustard to the NAFED. This marketing agency of the Government has been made responsible for purchase of mustard from the farmers at support price fixed by the State Government.

NAFED in return formed various nodal agencies and started purchasing mustard from March 1, 2006. Maximum purchase was done from Gautampura centre.

Depalpur Nagar Panchayat president Santosh Thakur and Mhow Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti president Mukesh Chouhan told Hindustan Times that till now more than six quintals of mustard has been purchased by NAFED on the support price fixed by the government and this much produce costs more than Rs 1.50 crore.

They said that the farmers were facing acute financial crisis, as NAFED was not making the payment against the produce due to which there was much anger among the farmers.

Thakur said that the Congress party under the leadership of former MLA Satyanarayan Patel would launch an agitation if the farmers were not given the cheque for the produce sold by them.