Punjab: Mandi is jam packed, paddy found place near garbage heap

Punjab: It is common to see excess produce dumped on the roadside or stock not procured by agencies. However, due to space crunch in mandis, this time the produce has landed near the garbage dump at Maqsuda Mandi in Jalandhar. Paramjit Singh, a farmer from Chugitti village, breaks his silence as he watches labourers load his produce into gunny bags and says: “Jagah nahi hai na zyada athe (there is not much space here), so I have kept it here.” Tribune correspondents have been visiting the mandi for the past few days and have found farmers’ grain lying strewn near garbage to dry. Slow procurement and lifting is leading to space crunch. Farmers say they really have no choice. A farmer from Mithapur village said it was their “compulsion” to keep their produce in such conditions. “Due to garbage and dirt around, stray cattle also roam around here. This is our ‘mehnat’, it is sad to see our produce lying like this,” he said. Even in the main grain market, the produce can be seen lying on the roads and outside the offices of the commission agents. This sight is new for the commission agents as well. Kashmiri Lal, president of the commission agents association, said that this is the first time that paddy grains are lying outside their offices as well.