Rain dampens wheat stock in Muktsar mandis; commission agents, farmers suffer losses

The rain last night caused significant damage to the wheat stock lying in the open at various mandis across Muktsar district, with farmers, commission agents and labourers reporting heavy losses.

They said the quality of the rain-soaked grain would deteriorate and could take up to 10 days to dry properly.

The situation has been further aggravated by the slow pace of lifting from the grain markets. For the past several days, both farmers and labourers were raising concerns over delayed transportation of wmheat. Despite this, Sukhwinder Singh, District Food and Civil Supplies Controller, Muktsar, regularly maintained that the lifting process was gaining momentum each day.

However, ground realities still paint a different picture. A large number of wheat-filled gunny bags and heaps of wheat are still lying in the open at the Muktsar grain market, with the stock continuing to pile up due to inadequate lifting arrangements.

Some commission agents expressed concern over financial losses. “The quality of the wheat will drop because of the rainwater. We will have to pay extra labour charges now. Who will compensate us for our loss?” questioned a commission agent.

Labourers also voiced their frustration, saying they had repeatedly alerted the authorities, but their warnings went unheeded.

Meanwhile, the weather remained cloudy in the region.