Faridkot
The coordination committee of the procurement agencies on Wednesday has written to the District Food and Supply Officer that due to the no agreement between the rice millers and the government, the procurement agencies are unable to procure any produce today on wards, suspending the procurement today.
“As the procurement agencies had started purchase of paddy on October 8 in the grain markets of Faridkot, the procured produce is lying un-lifted by the millers as the Rice millers have not entered into any agreement with the government and they have not sought any allotment so far. So, We have today stopped the purchase,” reads the letter written by the coordination committee of the agencies.
The procurement agencies said that the procured produce has to be lifted soon after the procurement by the millers, otherwise its quantity and quality may get affected.
“This way, the procurement agencies are responsible for any shortage and damage of the quality. The commission agents also said that the procured produce must be lifted within 72 hours as per the laws of the Mandi board, otherwise they have no responsibility about it,” the procurement agencies said.
Thus, in absence of the agreement between the millers and the government, whatever little produce was being procured has come to a halt.
The famers flay the Bhagwant Mann led AAP government for its failure to life the produce.
The official procurement of the paddy starts from October 1 every year, but this season, even half of the month has passed and many farmers are sitting in the grain markets for about 15 days.
“The rice millers today held a meeting with the Speaker Punjab Vidhan Sabha, who is also Kotkapura MLA and he had assured that there would be no problem to the millers here and asked them to start the lifting. But then they again could not make up their mind,” claimed a source.
“We have not been on any strike. We are getting the produce unloaded and cleaning. But procurement would only start if the millers come to lift the stock. About 90 per cent produce unloaded at the grain markets is dry and has less than 17 per cent permissible moister content. Now the commission agents are not at any fault. There is a problem of the rice millers and the procurement agencies,” said Ashok Kumar Goel, president of Ahartia Association Kotkapura.
The millers say that they have the problem of space because the last years' shelled paddy has not been moved by the FCI.
DC Faridkot,Vineet Kumar could not be contacted for his comments.