Farmers hold protest outside Mandi Board office in Jandiala

Even as the state government is claiming smooth procurement of paddy at grain markets here, farmers claimed that many of the mandis have not yet become operational. The farmers led by Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) leaders staged a protest outside the Mandi Board office in Jandiala stating that they were facing problems for the past many days.

The KMSC leaders stated that despite tall claims by the government, procurement by government agencies was yet to start. They stated that in most cases, the farmers are unnecessarily harassed on one pretext or the other.

District president of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Ranjit Singh Kalerbala said, “Government agencies are not procuring the PR126 variety though farmers had cultivated it on recommendations of the state government.” He said that in the fight between rice millers and government, the farmers had to bear the brunt.

Ranjit Singh said that though the agencies started procurement after their protest, it amounts to harassment. “Every day we have to resort to protests to get the procurement started. Now, they would stop it any moment and farmers will have to suffer,” he said.

Meanwhile, the protest by BKU (Ugrahan) faction at the toll plaza entered its third day on Saturday. The farmers staged a protest at Nijjerpura toll plaza here and accused the state government of not being sensitive towards the issues being faced by them. The union also staged a protest outside the office of Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal in Ajnala.