Farmers Movement Archive

Not getting coupons, farmers store wheat crop at houses

BATHINDA As the wheat harvesting is picking pace in the state, farmers who are not getting coupons to sell their crop in the grain markets are storing their produce at their houses to sell it later.To avoid overcrowding at procurement centres in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, the state government is issuing limited number of coupons to farmers to bring their crop to mandis. The procurement started on April 15.Karamjit Singh, a farmer from Jeond village in Bathinda, said he has already stored the wheat crop harvested from five acres. “I have grown wheat over 60 acres and will have to store the entire produce at house if I don’t get the coupons,” he said.A farmer from Pakho Kalan village said he has stored crop harvested from 25 acres in his house as he did not get coupons to take it to mandi. He said that it will be extra financial burden on farmers to take back the crop to mandis for sale in the coming days.Bathinda district mandi officer Preet Kanwar Brar said they have to send many farmers back who bring their crop to mandis without coupons. “To ensure that overcrowding doesn’t take place we have to keep strict check on number of coupons being issued,” he said. “Coupons are issued three days in advance to farmers. In Bathinda, we have issued 32,840 coupons for procurement till April 21,”he said.BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) leader Shingara Singh Mann said that farmers have no other option but to store the crop at their houses even as they will have to bear additional financial burden in the process.He said that farmers should be provided gunny bags so that they can keep the produce packed at their houses. They should also be provided an incentive for storing the crop. He added that farm unions will hold a protest at their rooftops on April 25 to press for these demands. To check overcrowding in the procurement centres, Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking incentives to farmers to sell their crop after April 30.

Hindustan Times

19-04-2020

City