On Bhagwant Mann’s word, Samyukt Kisan Morcha calls off stir over procurement for now

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of several farmer unions, on Saturday decided to call off its protest against the alleged tardy procurement of paddy. The move followed a meeting of SKM representatives with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who assured them of smooth procurement of the entire produce of the farmers.

The CM reportedly sought two days’ time from the unions to resolve all issues concerning the procurement. His meeting with the farmer union leaders, commission agents and leaders of mandi labour unions lasted a little over two hours. Finance Minister Harpal Cheema and Food and Supply Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak were also present. Mann reportedly assured the leaders that he would not allow any farmer to spend sleepless nights in mandis while awaiting the procurement of his produce. The CM also said he had a “plan B” ready and if millers in Punjab did not mill paddy, the government would get it milled from rice shellers outside the state. “I am here to safeguard the interests of every stakeholder. An amount of Rs 3,000 crore has already been paid to farmers whose paddy has been bought. I will not bow before blackmail tactics of those trying to derail the procurement process,” he said.

Talking to The Tribune, SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said, “The CM has sought two days’ time to sort out the procurement-related issues. We told him to take four days. If the procurement process doesn’t improve, we will be forced to take a ‘big action’ on October 24.”

Till Friday, 18.31 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy had arrived in the state mandis, but just 2.62 LMT or 14.30 per cent was lifted. The total government purchase till Friday was 16.37 LMT. Since there is a glut in the mandis, farmers cannot bring more produce for sale, which has caused unrest among them. Other than the SKM staging a dharna at Kisan Bhawan here since Friday, the other prominent farmer union, the BKU Ekta Ugrahan, too, staged protests at 50 places in the state, including at toll plazas and outside the residences of politicians.

President of the union Joginder Singh Ugrahan, however, said they would continue their protest till the procurement process started smoothly and the government ensured adequate supply of DAP.

Interestingly, representatives of the rice millers’ associations were not present in the meeting with CM Mann, even though the problem of tardy procurement has arisen because of the millers’ protest and their refusal to mill the paddy till enough space for the storage of this year’s stock was created in the state godowns.

Tarsem Saini and Bharat Bhushan Binta, both leaders of rice millers’ associations, remained steadfast in their stand that they would not mill the paddy till their demands were met. Saini told The Tribune that they would not stop any miller from signing agreements with government agencies, if they so wanted. Of the 5,500 rice shelling units in Punjab, only 1,800 have signed agreement with procurement agencies to mill rice.

Earlier, Kataruchak said the state was doing all within its means for the benefit of farmers, rice millers and commission agents. “Their demands are basically from the Centre. I believe the Centre is biased against Punjab as it has allowed a lower outturn ratio for rice milled from hybrid and PR 126 variety in Haryana, but not in Punjab.” He assured 30 LMT space for storing paddy would be available by end of December.