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The refusal of rice shellers in Punjab to mill government-procured paddy has led to a major glut within the state’s mandis. Regardless of the sharp enhance in paddy arrivals, the grain stays unmoved, inflicting congestion at procurement facilities. Rice shellers, nevertheless, have supplied to retailer the federal government’s paddy at their mills as a brief answer, although they continue to be agency on not milling the crop till their calls for are met.
Practically 88% procured paddy remained unmoved within the state mandis until Wednesday. This 12 months, the federal government is anticipating to procured 185 lakh tonne (LT) paddy of which 13.62LT reached mandis until Wednesday.
Tarsem Saini, president of Punjab Rice Sheller Affiliation mentioned that they’re able to retailer authorities’s paddy at their mills. “However we won’t start the milling course of till our points are resolved. The federal government can retailer the paddy at our amenities and take documentation of the overall inventory from every mill. We’ve got executed this earlier than in 1999 and even in 2005-06 when comparable points arose,” he mentioned.
The considerations of rice shellers stem from a variety of ongoing disputes with procurement companies, together with calls for for creating area within the authorities godowns in order that milled rice may be delivered to the federal government companies by March 31, 2025, higher dirage charges and assurances associated to milling contracts. Saini claims that authorities officers from procurement companies are exerting undue stress on rice shellers to retailer paddy solely for milling functions, relatively than permitting it to be saved as a buffer to ease the present glut.
“When the federal government can retailer wheat in our shellers, why not paddy?” he requested, criticising the reluctance of some officers to just accept the provide of storage with out milling commitments.
A senior officer in Markfed alleged that sure officers from procurement companies are concerned in corrupt practices, accepting funds from arhtiyas and rice shellers to make sure that solely high-quality paddy is shipped to particular mills for milling. If rice shellers merely retailer paddy with out milling it, the excellence between good and poor-quality grain turns into irrelevant, probably disrupting this technique of favoritism, he added.
Saini additionally confirmed this follow.
For now, the first concern is to make sure that the harvested paddy is moved out of mandis and saved securely. “There isn’t a safer place for the paddy than our rice mills,” Saini mentioned. The state authorities, nevertheless, is but to answer this.
In the meantime, protesting towards tardy lifting of paddy from the mandis, BKU Ugrahan on Thursday began an indefinite protest at 25 toll plazas. From Friday onwards, protests may even be began outdoors the homes of outstanding BJP leaders and as many AAP ministers, MLAs and MPs informed Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president BKU Ugrahan.
Toll plazas have been made tax free for normal commuters in 14 districts of Punjab. 4 such places are in Bathinda, 3 every in Taran Taran and Amritsar and a couple of every in Ferozepur, Barnala, Sangrur and Patiala whereas one every in Ludhiana, Fazilka, Muktsar, Mohali, Jalandhar and Moga districts of Punjab. In Ludhiana farmers staged protest at Chowkimaan toll plaza in Jagraon, Darapur in Moga whereas Giddranwali in Fazilka.
In Moga, Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan mentioned, “If easy procurement of paddy and quick funds aren’t began, steady protests will likely be held outdoors the properties of senior BJP leaders, in addition to as many AAP MLAs, MPs, and different ministers from Friday.”
Jhanda Singh Jethuke, senior vice chairman of BKU Ugrahan mentioned, “We demand uninterrupted procurement of paddy at full MSP. Farmers ought to be compensated for paddy already offered at beneath MSP. We additionally demand compensation for the PR 126 number of paddy, which yields lower than Pusa 44.”
The federal government has suggested us to sow PR 126 for water conservation functions and now they need to compensated our losses, mentioned Shingara Singh Mann, Bathinda unit president of BKU Ugrahan.
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