Farmers sowing Paddy after Monsoon Rain in Dairhi Village on the outskirts of Mohali in Punjab on Thursday, July 19 2018. Express photo by Sahil Walia
A protest by farmers in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district claiming irregularities in the government’s paddy procurement process went on for the second day on Friday with the Opposition BJP demanding that the deadline for the process be extended. The saffron party claims that more than half the farmers registered for procurement are yet to sell their produce.
More than 85 lakh metric tonnes of paddy are to be procured from over 19 lakh registered farmers. State Food Minister Amarjeet Bhagat however said on Friday that around 72 lakh metric tonnes have already been procured.
But, farmers in Bijapur, Dhamtari and other districts claim that they are not being issued tokens to sell at the collection centres. “It’s raining and we can’t keep our crops in the open. The centres have asked us to come on Monday now as they have run out of sacks to measure and keep the grains,” a protesting farmer in Bijapur told The Indian Express, requesting anonymity.
Around 18 collection centres in the district have reportedly stopped procurement claiming a shortage of sacks.
According to an official at a centre in Bijapur, there are around 2,000 sacks for over 1,400 quintals or 140 tonnes of produce. The BJP Kisan Sabha wrote to Governor Anusuiya Uikey and Chief Minister Kamal Nath demanding that the deadline for procurement be extended from February 15 to February 29. “There is no way all the procurement will finish in the next five days. The CM needs to be sensitive to farmers’ issues,” Sharma said.
“There are more than 32 lakh quintals of paddy stuck at centres across the state. Poor transportation and mismanagement has led to a delay in procurement and the government is busy covering it up. The farmers will suffer a huge loss due to the government’s failure,” he added.
The Congress reacted saying the Opposition was faking its support to the farmers. “We have procured more than last year already. The BJP is just trying to gain political mileage and is shedding crocodile tears. If they are really so worried for farmers, why don’t they speak inside the Parliament to increase the amount being paid by the Centre?” Congress spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said.
Minister Bhagat said an extension of the deadline may not be needed. “We are working with daily figures. If there are cases where the procurement process has not finished, we will look into it. I will discuss this issue with the CM in the Cabinet meeting on Saturday. His decision will be final,” he added.
When asked about the claims of lack of sacks at centres, Bhagat said, “I haven’t received any complaint yet. If the people are facing problems, they are welcome to bring it to my notice.”
