Heavy arrivals, tardy lifting leave Ambala Cantt mandi short of space

Heavy paddy arrivals coupled with tardy lifting have left the Ambala Cantonment grain market with little space for fresh arrivals. Due to the lack of space, the farmers can be seen waiting for their turn to offload their produce.

As per the data procured, over 1.3 lakh quintal paddy stocks have arrived at the grain market. Of it, over 1.1 lakh quintals were procured by procurement agencies till Saturday afternoon. Of the total procured stock, 33,200 quintals have been lifted from the grain market.

Last year, 3.6 lakh quintals of paddy had arrived at the grain market here.

A farmer from Fazalpur village, Amandeep Singh, who reached Ambala Cantonment grain market with his produce, said, “The gate pass for my produce was issued on October 1. It was procured on October 3 due to higher moisture level and shortage of space to offload the produce. Today, I brought more produce and it is yet to be purchased. The government should make some arrangements so that farmers are not forced to wait due to lack of space.”

Harnaik Singh, a farmer from Kesri village, said, “I have been waiting for nearly two hours to offload my produce as the commission agent has no space left. Due to tardy lifting, a number of farmers are waiting for their turn. The government should improve the lifting.”

Similarly, Krishan, a farmer from Khaira village, expressed disappointment with the yield and cuts being imposed due to higher moisture and quality issues.

“Farmers have suffered heavy losses this year and the yield has been just around 18-22 quintal per acre against the yield of over 30 quintal per acre last year. A cut of Rs 25 per quintal per point, in case the moisture level is detected above 17 per cent, is being imposed. Another cut of Rs 200 a quintal is being imposed if the quality of the grain is on the lower side due to false smut disease,” he added.

Neeraj Bhardwaj, secretary, Ambala Cantonment grain market, said, “The arrivals have been on the heavier side so far and the lifting has started gathering pace now. Nearly 12,000 quintal stock is being lifted daily. The procurement agencies procure produce with 17 per cent moisture content but a large number of stocks arrive with moisture content up to 22 per cent. So, the stock is kept for drying, leaving no space for the produce of other farmers. The farmers are urged to bring the produce after drying it as per the norms so that they don’t have to spread it in the grain market. All efforts are being made to improve the lifting so that the farmers don’t have to wait for long to sell their produce.”