Farmers Movement Archive

Ready sunflower crop destroyed in Shahabad mandi

Kurukshetra: Sunflower farmers claimed to have suffered losses after their ready crop got washed away in the rain that lashed the region in the wee hours of Sunday. They had kept the produce for drying ahead of procurement at Shahabad-Markanda grain market in Kurukshetra district. The sunflower procurement was started by the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) in Shahabad on June 5. The farmers said due to improper arrangements and faulty drainage system at the mandi, their crop got washed away in the rainwater. A farmer, Rakesh Kumar from Shahabad, who is also media coordinator of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Haryana, said, “Ready sunflower crop of around 100 farmers got washed away in the rain due to poor arrangements at the mandi. Some years ago, the drainage nullah at grain market was constructed at a high cost. But, owing to faulty planning, it got blocked by another nullah, the main outlet for the town’s drain water.” HSWC’s Kurukshetra district manager Rajeshwar said, “We started procurement on June 5 and till Saturday evening, 473 HSWC metric tonne sunflower was procured. But, due to rains, procurement didn’t take place on Sunday. It is the responsibility of the market committee to make proper arrangements for procurement of crops.” When contacted, Shahabad grain market secretary Krishan Kumar said, “The procured sunflower crop had already been already lifted. But, some crop was kept in the open by the farmers for drying, which got washed away in the rain. Till now, we don’t know the exact value of the destroyed crop.” Kumar said the sub-divisional officer and the junior engineer of the marketing board have been asked to check the blockage in the drainage system and rectify the issue.

The Times of India

2020-06-08

Chandigarh