Sonepat, September 11
The Haryana State Anaj Mandi Arhtiyas’ Association staged a protest against the new orders of the state government that allowed direct selling of the crop to a private buyer through an e-nam.
The protesters stated that if their demands were not met by September18, the association would close all state mandis and go on an indefinite strike.
Ashok Gupta, state president of the association, said: “One of the main demands of the arhtiyas is that all crops must be purchased by the government through arthiyas on the minimum support price (MSP) and they should get the full 2.5 per cent commission on the produce.”
“The MSP is directly being paid to farmers, which has made the arhtiyas angry. Many farmers, who have registered on the e-procurement portal, have not been able to sell their crops. Marginal farmers have been associated with the mandis for years,” Gupta said.
The protesters said in 2020, the state government had reduced the market and HRDF fee on crops from 4 per cent to 1 per cent. “The fee was again increased to 4 per cent. Owing to this, farmers were being offered less price on paddy. Therefore, we requested the government to reduce it to 1 per cent again,” protesters said.
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