Farm unions clamour for easy norms as rain hits procurement

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 3

Thousands of wheat bags lying at grain markets in Faridkot, Kotkapura, Jaito and other markets in the district’s rural areas got drenched after a heavy spell of rain on Sunday.

Earlier, farmers were plagued by the problems of shortage of gunny bags to pack the procured wheat produce and tardy lifting of wheat stock from the grain markets. Now, with downpour lashing parts of the region, there seems to be no let up in the miseries of the farmers and commission agents.

Another factor that would add to the sluggish movement of procured foodgrains to the stores would be farmers failing to meet the moisture content in wheat criteria, said Jagtar Singh, a farmer who is waiting at the Kotkapura grain market for procurement of his produce. The reason cited behind the delay is lack of gunny bags to pack the produce.

Various farmer unions in the state, including the BKU, have demanded relaxation in the procurement norms related to the moisture content in the grain.

No gunny bags have been delivered in Kotkapura and Faridkot during the last five days.

Sources in the Food and Supply Department said after getting approval from the Union Government, the state government asked the procurement agencies to use the old gunny bags.

The procurement agencies assigned the task of arranging old gunny bags to the commission agents, who are in confusion in the absence of guidelines with respect to the quality and price of the old gunny bags.

Specific directions regarding the quality and price of the old gunny bags should have been given, said Ashok Goel, secretary, Commission Agents Association, Kotkapura.

Some politically-connected persons, who have the wheat lifting contract, are asking the commission agents to make their own arrangements to shift the procured stock from mandis to the procurement agencies stores, alleged many commission agents in Faridkot and Kotkapura.

On an average, the contractors are being paid Rs6.50 a bag for labour and cartage charges by the Food and Supply Department, but they in turn are offering Rs1.50 a bag to the commission agents for transporting the produce.

Upset over this, arhtiyas say the market transportation charges are between Rs4 and Rs4.50 per bag.

The contractors were also pawning off their responsibility of unloading the stock at the store of procurement agency to the commission agents, rued Bharat Bhushan ‘Bhushi’, president, Commission Agents Association, Faridkot.