Farmers await wheat purchase by Pungrain

Our Correspondent

Abohar, May 17

Some farmers in Kularan village have been guarding wheat stacks braving scorching heat as no government official has come for past seven days to purchase wheat. The village, having about 4,900 hectare of land, has a total population of 4,368 people as per the last Census.

As state agency Pungrain, which was allocated purchase at the focal point in Kularan, claimed that no more bags were available after achieving the target of purchasing 10,129 MT of wheat, farmers preferred to keep the produce at home fearing loss if stacked in open here as thunderstorm and rain had been predicted by weather experts.

Rakesh Kumar, Gauri Shanker, Hazari Ram, Krishan Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Sudhir, Surinder Kumar, Ajay Kumar and Jaswant Singh are guarding about 2,400 quintals of wheat that had already been offloaded at the uncovered yard.

The district administration alleged that the wheat was transported from the neighbouring Rajasthan area. So Punjab agencies were not ready to purchase the same.

Refuting the allegation, Bhartiya Kisan Union Kadian activists said Rajasthan was paying more prices for wheat than Punjab, then why any farmer would take the trouble of bearing transportation charges to carry the produce from neighbouring desert to Kularan or any other village here. The BKU warned of launching an agitation if the purchase was not restored in the next 24 hours.