Punjab: Paddy procurement slow, no festival for farmers

Punjab: Frustrated and distressed farmers are spending gloomy days at various mandis. The festive season has arrived, but there is nothing to cheer for farmers. For them, everything is at the mercy of ‘rabb aasre’ (God). Farmer Satnam Singh of Nahal village has been away from his newborn twins for the past six days. The reason: his harvested crop is lying unsold at the Lohian Mandi. After six days, the process of weighing his produce finally began and he heaved a sigh of relief. “I have been stuck at the mandi since October 15 as the government is not serious about this grave problem,” he told the Tribune. He said his produce has not been procured even after six days. Farmer Kasu Balwinder Singh of Gatta Mundi has spent eight days at the mandi. “There is no festival for us. I have been at the mandi for the past eight days and today some of my produce was put into gunny bags,” he said. The farmers said Diwali will be a dull affair for them this year. They said most of them have not received any payment for their produce so far. Kripal Singh of Musapur said they do not know what to do. “How long will we sit here? If we go home, someone might steal our produce. But do we have any other option? No one is thinking about us,” he said. Farmers are waiting for their produce to be bought in mandis so that they can get money to repay their loans. “The payment we get for our produce is not enough for us. First we have to repay the dues of the moneylenders, then we are able to buy seeds and fertilisers for the next crop. This time the situation has become very difficult,” said Sandeep Singh, a farmer from Khichipur. Sukhpreet Singh, a villager from Jamsher Khas, said the village mandi was also closed. “Farmers are not able to unload their produce from tractor-trailers because the commission agents have asked them not to bring produce to the mandi,” he said.