Chandigarh/Karnal, October 2: All India Congress Committee General Secretary, former Union Minister, and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja has expressed deep concern over the delay in lifting millions of tons of paddy lying in the state's mandis and the weather department's forecast of rain in the coming days. Currently, approximately four lakh tons of paddy is lying in the mandis under the open sky, which could be directly affected by the rain.
Forgetting the farmers' hard work and costs, the cost of land is also troubling them as debt. In a statement issued to the media, Kumari Selja said that approximately 5.30 lakh metric tons of paddy has arrived in the state's mandis so far, of which only 3.77 lakh metric tons have been purchased.
Worryingly, only 89 thousand metric tons of the purchased paddy has been lifted from the mandis. Moreover, farmers are being harassed by claiming excessive moisture in their paddy, forcing them to sell it to private agencies at throwaway prices.
The MP stated that the paddy produced by farmers' hard work is at risk of spoiling in the open in the markets. If timely arrangements for lifting and storage are not made, farmers will suffer huge losses due to rain and hailstorms. He stated that this situation exposes the state government's negligence and mismanagement.

Sailja demanded that the government:
*Ensure immediate lifting of paddy purchased from the markets.
*Provision for tarpaulin and safe storage should be made to protect the paddy lying in the markets from rain.
*Farmers should be paid on time and the process should be made transparent.
*Additional staff and resources should be deployed in districts where the procurement process is slow.

The MP stated that farmers' produce is the result of their year-long hard work. Allowing this hard work to be wasted due to poor management is intolerable under any circumstances. He warned the state government that if concrete steps are not taken in time, the Congress Party will strongly raise the voice of farmers from the streets to the House of Parliament.

*BJP government's claims proved hollow
Sailaja said that the government had claimed that every grain of paddy would be purchased, but this claim too proved hollow. Today, farmers are feeling disappointed due to the BJP government's deception. During the government's tenure, farmers' yellow gold is lying scattered in the markets and on the roads.
Farmers are forced to leave their fields, barns, homes, and families for the entire Navratri, spending the entire Navratri in the scorching sun all day and under the open sky at night, waiting for government procurement.
He said that farmers' hopes are being shattered every day due to the deception of government procurement. It seems that the government has left them at the mercy of private agencies to exploit them.
Instead of government procurement at MSP, farmers are facing deception from the BJP government. For how long will this treatment of the BJP's "double engine" continue with the farmers of Haryana, from government procurement to supply of fertilizers?