Day 1, district mandis see less arrival of paddy

On day one of procurement, very less paddy was arrived in mandis. A visit to the main grain market, Jalandhar, revealed that there was hardly any paddy arrival and the labourers were sitting idle on the paddy sacks.

Officials from the mandi board said the actual arrival starts from October 8-9, but the announcement of strike by arhtiyas and labourers is the reason behind less arrival.

Today, as per the official record, merely 1,147 tonnes of paddy arrived in 12 market committees of the district, including Jalandhar city, Bilga, Shahkot, Phillaur, Nurmahal, Nakodar, Lohian Khas, Jalandhar Cantt, Goraya, Bhogpur and Adampur. There are 79 mandis under these market committees. No procurement of paddy was recorded.

In Bilga, Goraya, Nakodar, Nurmahal and Phillaur, zero arrival was recorded.

Alam, a labourer from Bengal, said he had been visiting Punjab during the procurement season. “But, this time, we are sitting idle because of strike,” he said. Mejabur from Bengal and Manish Yadav from Uttar Pradesh shared the same sentiments.

Kashmir Lal, president of the Arhtiya Association, said the strike will continue till the demands are met.