Punjab farmers bearing the brunt of loss as parties resort to blame game over slow paddy lifting

Bittu said connected Wednesday that millers told him that PR-126 was being cultivated for past 7 years. “But the authorities authorities created specified a hype astir the assortment that the farmers picked up seeds of different hybrid varieties due to the fact that the effect of PR-126 was not available. Now, the farmers are facing the problem. PR-126 and different hybrids were abbreviated duration varieties which were sown successful murphy loop successful Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Kapurthala. All this came retired erstwhile we asked millers to talk the truth,” Bittu said, adding that the AAP authorities was liable for the chaos.

However, a fig of Cabinet ministers successful Punjab, including Harpal Cheema, Aman Arora, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, enactment MP Malwinder Singh Kang, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, had echoed that the Centre was avenging the farmers protestation of 2020 by “meting step-motherly treatment”.

Reiterating the Centre’s assurance, Union Food Minister Prahlad Joshi had connected Wednesday said that the Government of India has provided a month-wise program allocating maximum obstruction rakes to Punjab for expedited evacuation of existing atom stocks.

Punjab, which presently holds 130 lakh tonnes of rice, faces logistics hurdles arsenic it aims to procure 124 lakh tonnes successful the existent season.

“The highest precedence has been fixed to Punjab and Haryana for evacuation of the stock. We person fixed a elaborate program to the Punjab authorities connected instauration of space. …Highest fig of rakes person been provided…,” Joshi told reporters, addressing concerns implicit procurement delays.

“The Centre has intelligibly without immoderate ambiguity clarified to Punjab that we volition acquisition the committed quantity successful time,” Joshi had said, adding that CM Bhagwant Mann had expressed restitution with the cardinal government’s assurance.

Bittu’s onslaught and Joshi’s assurance was followed by a property league by elder BJP person Harjeet Singh Grewal connected Thursday who said that the AAP authorities and immoderate husbandman organisations are liable for the hold successful lifting paddy from Punjab mandis.

While addressing the media successful Chandigarh, Grewal, who was accompanied by authorities media caput Vineet Joshi, added that it was not the Centre’s fault.

The Punjab government’s hold successful notifying the Fortified Rice Kernels Milling Policy, from the accustomed November 15, 2023 to January 21, 2024, resulted successful a two-and-a-half-month stall successful atom milling. When determination is nary atom what volition the Centre transport, Grewal asked.

He added that workplace unions contributed to the hold by blocking railway services doubly —first successful February and past again successful April-May for 40 days this year. “With a four-month hold due to the fact that of the AAP authorities and different two-month dely owed to workplace unions, however tin the BJP authorities astatine the Centre beryllium held responsible?” Grewal asked.
He added that the AAP-led Punjab authorities indispensable instantly acquisition paddy from the mandis nether Clause 14 of the Punjab Custom Milling Policy 2023-24 to supply alleviation to the farmers.

Grewal and Joshi alleged that the AAP authorities is deliberately stalling paddy procurement successful the mandis to retaliate for its crushing decision successful 10 Lok Sabha seats successful Punjab. “If this is not true,” they asked, “why is the AAP authorities refusing to bargain paddy contempt receiving Rs 43,000 crore from the Centre for its purchase? Why is it not procuring the paddy nether azygous custody,” they asked.

When asked Mazdoor sangharsh committee (KMSC) coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher said that some the Centre and the authorities person ensured that they person a achromatic Diwali this time. “Even if they benignant the milling contented now, 50 per cent of our farmers person already sold their nutrient with a chopped to arhtiyas. They person refused to springiness america afloat MSP. Even if they find a solution, farmers person already suffered losses. They are ne'er going to springiness america this wealth back.”

He added that for the past 24 days, ever since the procurement started officially, neither of the governments person tried to find a solution. “This blasted crippled is besides aft an understanding. Has Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann oregon AAP main Arvind Kejriwal fixed immoderate statement? In the past, successive CMs person gone to Delhi to find a solution whenever a occupation arose. But these radical did not effort to bash that. If they effort it honestly, the solution volition emerge,” Pandher said, adding that some Centre and AAP were troubling the farmers.

Harmeet Singh Kadian of Bharti Kisan Union (Kadian) besides warned the authorities to see that festival was approaching and the farmers problems should beryllium sorted. He said that the farmers were being “looted”in the mandis arsenic they were paying a chopped of Rs 8 to 10 per kg of paddy. He warned the authorities of a “law and order” concern if the contented was not sorted immediately. He accused 92 MLAs of AAP for not raising the contented astatine the close time.