Kisan union to hold dharna at minister’s residence

A prominent farmers’ organisation, Kirti Kisan Union, has announced that it will stage a three-day dharna outside the residence of Punjab Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal in his native village Jagdev Kalan from October 21. The farmers’ union is accusing the government of tardy procurement, low prices of basmati and shortage of DAP required for sowing wheat.

The union leaders stated that minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal had issued frequent public statements that Punjab government would intervene in the procurement process if the price of basmati is lower than Rs 3,000 per quintal.

“This season, the price of basmati is lower than Rs 3,000 per quintal and for a few days, it was sold at less than Rs 2,000 per quintal. But neither the cabinet nor any government functionary has taken any notice of it,” said Jatinder Singh Chinna, state vice-president of Kirti Kisan Union.

Chinna said that the government claims regarding smooth procurement were a farce. “Till date, procurement in many mandis in rural areas has not started and farmers are facing trouble in selling their crop,” he said, adding that instead of focusing on image-building through media and advertisements, the government should work on solving problems at the ground level.