Bathinda: The farmer organisation, BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), has announced protests at deputy commissioner offices on April 16, demanding smoother wheat procurement across the state.BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said farmers are suffering from the vagaries of weather, which have severely impacted crop quality. “While the central govt has provided relaxations for Rajasthan, no such relief has been granted to Punjab. Consequently, procurement agencies are shying away from making purchases,” Ugrahan said. Agricultural experts said the wheat crop suffered a double whammy, with extreme heat in late Feb and early March, followed by unseasonal rain in late March. While farmers attempted to mitigate the heat with extra irrigation, the subsequent rainfall caused the heavy crops to flatten. BKU (Ekta-Dakaunda) has called an emergency meeting for April 15 to decide on its course of action, while Krantikari Kisan Union has threatened demonstrations if procurement does not begin immediately. General secretary Gurmeet Singh Mehma said procurement is stalled in many parts of the state, with over 1.30 lakh acres of crops affected. These developments come as officials from the department of food and public distribution and Food Corporation of India (FCI) tour Punjab to assess crop losses caused by rainfall and hail. Technical officers Anupama Kumari and Abhishek Pandey, along with FCI quality control AGM Vinay Kumar, recently visited grain markets in Bhikhi and Sardulgarh (Mansa district) to collect wheat samples. These samples will be sent to a laboratory in Chandigarh for quality testing. Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, Punjab, too has accused the Punjab and Centre of not starting the purchase of wheat in the markets on the pretext of purchase specifications not being met. SKM functionaries Prem Singh Bhangu, Mukesh Chander Sharma and Baldev Singh Latala, in a statement on Tuesday, said although the purchase has formally begun from April 1, the purchasing agencies have yet to start them on account of moisture, shrinkage and discolouring of the grain due to unseasonal rainfall. SKM has warned that if the purchase is not started immediately, they will be forced to announce a strict action shortly. MSID:: 130257024 413 |
