Farmers flay govt for non-lifting of paddy

The farmer unions associated with Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) have flayed the state government for not starting paddy procurement. At a meeting organised at the local Gandhi Municipal Park on Saturday, the SKM leaders said that the state government had announced that paddy procurement would officially start from October 1 but that has not happened.

Daljit Singh Dialpura, a farmer leader, presided over the meeting while Amritpal Singh Jaura, Tarsem Singh Lohar, Gurcharan Singh Gharka, Balwinder Singh Sakhira and Gurpreet Singh Gandiwind were among the union leaders who addressed the meeting. The farmer leaders alleged that the state and the Union Government had made no arrangements for the lifting of rice stored in the shellers last year as a result of which there was no space to de-load the present stock. The leaders said that the farmers would block roads on October 13 to protest against the negligence of the government and for failing to make alternative arrangements to de-load the present stock of paddy.

The leaders said that the paddy crop of the farmers is ready to be harvested but the state government has not yet started procurement and the farmer was not ready to bring his crop in the mandi to avoid harassment.