Jalandhar: Farmers are scared of sowing paddy next year

Jalandhar: There is a slowdown in procurement and lifting in the mandis. The situation is the same in the mandis as well, the situation has scared the farmers from sowing paddy next year. Amritpal Singh, a farmer from Sheken Village, said that he is already worried about what will happen next year. He said, “This time I am feeling very sad. My paddy is still lying in the mandis. This was the only crop that gave us some relief, but now the situation has changed.” Another farmer from Nakodar said that the government has shaken his faith in paddy as well. The disappointed farmer said, “Eda sahara si sanu, hor ki laye hun.” Tarsem Singh, a farmer from Uncha village, said that his produce is lying in the open in the nearby mandi. He said, “There has been no improvement in the situation. It is still serious.” Manjit Rai, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) (Doaba), appealed to the farmers to record the slip given to them and take a photo of it. He said, “We are hearing that farmers are facing many problems. This will not be acceptable and we will ensure that farmers are given the real price of their crop. He said that this will not be acceptable and we will ensure that farmers are given the real price of their crop. He further said that if the government does not listen to them, farmers will sit on dharna. Hardev Singh, a farmer from Bhogpur village, also said that this is a negative environment for farmers, where they (farmers) and their produce are not being respected.

He said that in all these years we have never faced such a scenario. We are being asked to sell our produce with some cut. Some farmers are agreeing to do so because we are left with no option or choice. The disappointed farmers said that even the festive season went into tension and now there is nothing positive for them. DC Dr Himanshu Agarwal said on Tuesday that the district administration is giving top priority to the lifting of paddy in grain markets and 32,629 metric tonnes of crop has been lifted in a single day. While reviewing the paddy procurement arrangement, the DC said that so far a total of 12,629 metric tonnes of paddy has been lifted by the procurement agencies. 2,69,520 metric tonnes of crop has been lifted.