The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) on Monday withdrew its call for agitation after senior officials managed to persuade farmer leaders and assured them of ensuring smooth paddy procurement at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), while expediting the lifting of procured stocks from grain markets across Haryana.
Hundreds of farmers under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) had gathered at the Shaheed Udham Singh Memorial in Shahabad to protest against pending verification of paddy crops, slow lifting and delayed payments.
The farmers had threatened to launch a massive agitation and were ready for a confrontation if their demands were not accepted.
Heavy police deployment, barricading, water cannons and dumpers were among the measures put in place to prevent the farmers from blocking the Delhi-Ambala National Highway.
Principal Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Haryana, Amneet P Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena and several other officials from the Agriculture and Food and Civil Supplies departments reached the spot to hold a meeting with the farmers.
While addressing the farmers, BKU (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni criticised the state government for failing to ensure smooth paddy procurement and said the government should take action against officials responsible for the inconvenience faced by farmers.
Gurnam Singh Charuni said, “We have no interest in holding protests and blocking the highways, but the farmers are forced to take such steps. The farmers had been facing inconvenience in selling their produce as the verification on the MFMB portal was pending, and the lifting has been poor. However, in the meeting, the government has assured that the lifting will be expedited and the issues related to the portal and verifications will be resolved soon.”
“The government has imposed a district-wise limit on paddy purchase per acre due to some directions from the Central Government. For Kurukshetra, the limit is around 29 quintals per acre. However, the state government has assured that in case of higher yield, verification will be done and the entire produce will be procured,” he said.
The farmer leader further said, “For the next season, we have demanded that paddy procurement begin from September 15, and have also demanded that verification and processes related to agreements with rice millers and transporters be completed before September 10. We have also demanded that mustard procurement should begin from February 1 and sunflower procurement from May 15. We have been assured that all the issues will be resolved.”
Amneet P Kumar said, “A meeting was held with the farmers’ union and the issues related to verification, lifting and payment have been resolved. Directions have been issued to deputy commissioners across the state to ensure timely lifting of procured paddy stocks. The government has already released Rs 44 crore for payment for the procured stocks. The farmers have given some suggestions for the next procurement seasons, and appropriate action will be taken by the government. It will be ensured that the entire produce is procured at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) without any cut. All efforts are being made to ensure a smooth procurement process.”
