On the call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), farmers on Saturday staged a protest outside the BJP district office, ‘Karan Kamal’, over alleged delays in paddy procurement.
They also burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini outside the party office and raised slogans against him. Meanwhile, a large number of police personnel were deployed at the site to maintain law and order.
The protesting farmers expressed anger over the difficulties they were facing during the paddy procurement season, alleging that their crops were not being procured smoothly in grain markets.
They accused the government of failing to fulfil its promises, including the assurance to procure paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal. “Farmers are being forced to sell their produce at prices lower than the MSP, causing financial losses,” said Surinder Singh, a farmer.
Bahadur Singh Mehla, spokesperson for the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sir Chhotu Ram), said farmers were being exploited in grain markets during paddy procurement.
He said the government had repeatedly promised to purchase every grain of the farmers’ produce but had failed to ensure proper procurement. He also claimed that paddy was lying exposed to rain in grain markets, with no effective arrangements in place to protect it from damage.
Jagdeep Singh Aulakh, a member of the state core committee of the BKU (Sir Chhotu Ram), alleged that farmers were struggling to get the MSP for their crops. He said procurement inspectors were not arriving when required and that a shortage of gunny bags was adding to their difficulties.
He added that despite overcoming several challenges to cultivate and harvest their crops, farmers were facing further hardships when bringing their produce to grain markets.
Mehla said the concerns of farmers were not being addressed and that the government had failed to provide adequate relief to the farming community.
The farmers demanded immediate intervention by the state government to streamline procurement, ensure that their produce was purchased at the MSP, address the shortage of gunny bags, and protect harvested paddy from rain and deterioration.
They said the government must address these problems without delay to prevent further losses to farmers.
