Karnal, October 4 (Praveen Walia):- Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President Rao Narendra Singh and Pradesh Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt visited the New Grain Market in Karnal over issues related to farmers’ crop procurement and MSP. During the visit, they interacted with farmers and commission agents, reviewed the procurement arrangements and listened to their problems.
The Congress leaders said that at a time when farmers’ crops are arriving in the mandis, the government procurement system is itself under question. Farmers are waiting in the mandis with their produce, but they are not getting timely procurement and a guarantee of a fair price.
Rao Narendra Singh said that the farmers’ problems were clearly visible in the mandi today. Farmers are sitting in the mandi with their produce, but the way the procurement system is functioning is giving them waiting and anxiety instead of relief. A farmer has one foot in the mandi because his crop is lying there, while his other foot is in the field because he has to prepare for the next crop. At such a time, if he has to wait three or four days to sell his produce, the extent of his difficulties can easily be understood.
During this crucial period of paddy procurement, officials should be regularly present in the mandis, but officials remain absent from the mandis for several days at a stretch. Even on Sundays or holidays, farmers’ produce remains lying in the mandis. Farmers do not take a holiday, so how can the procurement system for their produce go on holiday?
The weak government procurement system is directly harming farmers. They are being forced to sell their produce to local traders at lower prices out of compulsion. Instead of making excuses, the government should deploy sufficient officials and procurement agencies in the mandis and ensure that farmers receive a fair price and MSP for their produce.
Sanjay Dutt said that earlier farmers were worried about procurement, but now the government is making various excuses for delays in procurement. This is an injustice to the hard work and rights of farmers. Farmers work for months to prepare their crops, and when the produce reaches the mandi, they are made to wait for procurement.
Farmers are facing a double hardship. On the one hand, their produce is lying in the mandi, while on the other, they have to prepare their fields for the next crop. If the government system does not procure their produce on time, farmers are forced to sell it to local traders at lower prices. MSP should not remain merely an announcement; farmers must also receive a fair price for their produce in the mandi.
During this paddy procurement season, the absence of officials from mandis for three or four days at a stretch is a serious issue. The procurement system should be such that farmers do not have to wait to sell their produce even on Sundays or holidays. The government should understand the farmers’ difficulties and immediately streamline the procurement system.
The Congress will not allow the farmers’ voice to be suppressed. If farmers have to struggle to sell their own produce and do not receive the full value of their hard work, the Congress will stand firmly with them and raise the issue from the streets to the Assembly.
Those present on the occasion included Parag Gaba, District President, District Congress Committee (Urban), Karnal; Rajesh Vaid, District President, District Congress Committee (Rural), Karnal; Divanshu Budhiraja, former Lok Sabha candidate; Bakshish Singh Virk, former MLA; Rakesh Kamboj, former MLA; Sachin Kundu, former Assembly candidate; besides Bhupi Lathar, Teji Maan, Joginder Valmiki, Tarun Chauhan, Pankaj Gaba, Lalit Ahuja, Sandeep Mahajan, Surendra Lambardar, Parveen Poonia, Soni Sharma, Devi Singh, Rakesh Dakwala, Suresh Kachhua, Raunak Ram, Vikas Kamboj, Manik and Hartab.
