Farmers stage dharna, seek early procurement of paddy, millet

Farmers under the banner of BKU (Charuni) staged a dharna and observed a fast at different district headquarters, demanding early procurement of paddy and millet. In Karnal, farmers staged a dharna outside the Mini Secretariat.

They said paddy and millet crops were already ripening and arriving in grain markets, but procurement had still not started. Instead, they alleged, the crop was being purchased at lower prices, causing heavy losses to farmers.

“Our crop is ready. The government should have started procurement by September 15, but even today the process has not begun,” said Manjeet Chaugama, a farmer leader.

He, along with other leaders, demanded that farmers be granted permission to remove the sand deposited on their fields due to the recent floods and erosion. “Wherever floodwaters have left sand deposits, the farmers should be allowed to lift it,” he added.

The farmers warned that if procurement did not begin immediately, they would intensify their protest.

In Kaithal, farmers handed over a memorandum to the SDM for CM Nayab Singh Saini. BKU (Charuni) youth state president Vikram Kasana said the current policy of beginning paddy procurement on October 1 was outdated and caused major losses to the farmers. He said when the rule was framed, traditional seeds with a crop cycle of 100-120 days were in use, which matured by October. However, today, most farmers used hybrid seeds which had a cycle of 85-90 days, leading to paddy arriving in mandis by mid-September.

The e-Kshatipurti portal should be kept open until September 30, so that farmers could raise their claims for the loss due to flood, he said, adding that they would gather at the CM's residence on September 22 if their demands were not met.

In Yamunanagar, leading the protest in the grain market, Jagadhri, BKU district president Sanju Gundiana said they had requested the government to start paddy procurement from September 15. “Delay means a loss for us,” he said. Later, the farmers handed over a memorandum of their demands to the CM through Additional Deputy Commissioner Naveen Ahuja.