At Jalandhar mandi, minister blames Centre for tardy lifting
Cabinet Minister Mohinder Bhagat visited the main grain market in Jalandhar today and interacted with arhtiyas, asking about the issues that were facing. No farmers were seen during the interaction.
When the minister asked whether lifting was being done, and if 25 trucks carrying paddy were going to shellers, a disappointed Kashmiri Lal, president of the Arhtiya Association Jalandhar, replied, “Kal tak te koi 25 truck nai gaye, ajj tussi aaye toh te bhaave chale jaan (No trucks carrying paddy left from the mandi yesterday, now that you are here today, something may happen).”
Bhagat assured that every possible action was being taken to ensure resolution to this problem. The minister, who was earlier with the BJP, put the onus on the Centre, saying that they were targeting Punjab in particular.
“The Centre is doing this deliberately and has ruined everything. The produce of farmers is lying as it is. The festival season is going on and there are no payments,” he said.
The minister said that he would again come on a visit and assured of improvement in lifting. He said that 15,000 sacks of paddy would be lifted from the mandis. The arhtiyas said that 25,000 sacks of paddy were arriving at the mandi every day.
