Farmers warn of indefinite highway blockade at Phagwara from Monday

Peeved over the tardy purchase of paddy in mandis across the state, farmers under the banner of the BKU (Doaba) and BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) announced to launch an indefinite blockade of the national highway at Phagwara from Monday onwards.

BKU (Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai said the farmers would start an indefinite dharna at Phagwara in front of the sugar mill from October 21 at 10 am onwards. “Tractors laden with unsold paddy will be parked all around the highway and the commuters will have to look for alternative routes to reach their destinations. We know that this is the time of festivals and people can feel harassed, but we have a pressing issue at hand,” he said.

Union general secretary Satnam S Sahni blamed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for the development. “It was he who had urged us all to sow PR-126 variety of paddy assuring us that he would ensure timely lifting of every grain of this variety. We also got carried away as this is a short-duration variety. But now, we are being told that since its post-milling yield is less by 5 per cent, the millers are not ready to accept it. All we know is that we had sown this variety on the recommendation of the CM and that he has to now ensure lifting of our produce,” he said.

Jalandhar district president of BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) Kulwinder Singh Machhiana said, “We are being told that the paddy variety we have sown has 62 per cent post-milling yield as compared to the government standard of minimum 67 per cent. But this is not our fault that we have sown it. We are now being told that most farmers got the seeds of some non-certified hybrid varieties similar to PR-126 which have low milling out-turn. Still it is not our fault. The government should have checked the sale of such spurious seeds,” he said.

The farmer leaders said the mandis were completely full. “Since October 1, the actual purchase has taken place only for 3-4 days. In most mandis, no record of purchase is being made. We are not getting any payment of the crop lifted. It has to be entered as purchased crop for us to be eligible to seek payment, which is not being done. If it rains, all our produce lying in the open shall get destroyed and become unfit for any purchase. The government shall be responsible for the lapses in that case,” they said.

Machhiana said if no solution was worked out by Sunday evening, the highways would be blocked from Monday morning. “We will specify the locations of intended blockades by tomorrow. We may join the protest with BKU (Doaba) and other organisations,” he said.