Farmers Movement Archive

Vigil enhanced at inter-state borders to check illegal paddy inflow into Punjab

PATIALA: In a bid to check illegal flow of paddy from various states into Punjab, the state government has instructed the district authorities to increase vigil at the inter-state borders, so that illegally arriving food grain does not cause any direct or indirect loss to the farmers or the government. The move came following the busting of a racket involved in such trade by the police, mandi board and revenue officials in Patiala. A total of 20 persons have been arrested and over 32 vehicles carrying about 822.5 tonnes of paddy seized over the last two days. In all, 13 FIRs have been registered against the accused. Patiala SSP Vikram Jeet Duggal said credible inputs suggest that numerous heavy vehicles carrying loads of paddy from other states like UP and Bihar are headed for Punjab. Taking a serious view of the matter, vigil has been increased at various inbound routes at Punjab-Haryana borders falling in Patiala district, such as Shambu, Pehowa, Balbera, Cheeka, Dhabbi Gujjran, Patran. “Several police check-posts have been set up and flying squads consisting of police personnel, revenue and mandi board officials deployed to monitor the illegal movement of trucks,” the SSP said. Duggal said preliminary investigations reveal that such inbound paddy is first purchased at lower rates in other states and then transported to Punjab for sale at much higher prices, thereby giving a huge margin to the sellers. “This practice causes enormous and undue burden on the state exchequer and indirect loss to the farmers of Punjab.” Over the past few days, the farmers have themselves been confiscating the paddy-loaded trucks entering through the state borders and informing the police. In one such incident in Samana on Friday night, the farmers had a clash with the rice miller. BKU (Dakaunda) general secretary Jagmohan Singh said, “There is no law that allows the traders in Punjab to purchase paddy from outside the state. The recovery of illegal paddy arriving in Punjab from other states shows that farmers in these states are being exploited by private buyers as their crop is not being purchased at MSP.”

The Times of India

2020-10-19

Ludhiana