Deadline over, mustard purchase yet to begin

Rewari, March 28

Farmers visiting the local grain markets to sell their mustard produce were disappointed as the government failed to start procurement even after the expiry of the deadline today.

Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar had on Sunday assured farmers that procurement of mustard would start today. Neither the District Agriculture Marketing Committee nor local HAFED officials have so far any information about mustard procurement. An officer confided that there was a remote possibility about the procurement process starting for a couple of days as a meeting of higher officers was yet to be held in this connection at the state headquarters. Over 6,000 quintals of mustard was sold at below the MSP) in local grain market today.

Ram Kishan Mehlawat, state secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), said a meeting of various farmers’ organisations had been convened tomorrow to decide the further course of action. — TNS