The BJP delegation urged the Punjab Governor to address rice procurement issues

A delegation of Punjab BJP leaders met Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Sunday and submitted a memorandum alleging that the AAP government in the state was inefficient due to ‘late’ picking up paddy fields.

The delegation urged the Governor to intervene and ensure complete removal of rice from mandis as a “gift” to the farmers of the state so that they can “celebrate Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas with their families ”.

The memorandum stated: “Due to inefficiency on the part of the Government of Punjab, even after 26 days of officially initiating the procurement of rice, the Government of Punjab has not been able to obtain the bulk of rice from the mandis in the entire state.”

According to the BJP delegation, including Avinash Rai Khanna, Preneet Kaur, Harjit Singh Grewal, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Vijay Sampla, Vineet Joshi and Fateh Jang Bajwa, rice procurement for the 2024-2025 Kharif marketing season started from October 1 in Punjab.

“Before the start of the season, in the last week of September, the Punjab government received Rs 44,000 crore for purchase of rice at MSP from the central government,” the memorandum said.

The BJP memorandum further alleged that the Punjab government has failed miserably to make all necessary arrangements on time to ensure smooth procurement of rice: be it purchase of gunny bags, tarpaulin or notification of an adapted milling policy or the notification of FRK (fortified rice kernels) milling policy or award of labor contracts or transport contracts, etc.

The state government has also failed to provide proper drinking water, toilet facilities and mandatory medical facilities in mandis, the memorandum said.

The government’s biggest failure is its inability to reach an agreement with 5,500 rice millers for rice milling, it said. “Now, the ongoing rice procurement crisis in Punjab has turned into a serious law and order issue,” the report said.

“Farmers who have been protesting since the first week of October have now increased the intensity of their 15-20 day agitation and are now blocking national, state and local roads. It has caused great inconvenience to the people of Punjab during the festive season,” the report said.

Notably, farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha held indefinite roadblocks at a number of places in Punjab on Saturday to protest against “late” procurement and grubbing of paddy and other issues.

Protests were held at Badarukhan on Sangrur-Bathinda highway in Sangrur, Dagru on Moga-Ferozepur highway in Moga, Satiali Phul on Gurdasour-Tanda highway in Gurdaspur and Batala railway station, farmers said.

Seeking the Governor’s intervention to put an end to the ‘belated’ procurement of rice, the memorandum issued by the BJP delegation said: “We request your good self to intervene and ensure its complete removal of rice from mandis and bestowing happiness on the farmers of Punjab to celebrate Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas. with their families.

The BJP urged the Governor to ask the Punjab government to take all steps to ensure good supply of DAP and urea for the next sowing season, “as this is the next looming disaster that Punjab will face to get”.

Rice harvesting from mandis (wholesale markets) in Punjab has been particularly affected after state rice millers refused to mill the rice until their demands were met.

Rice millers have raised concerns over the yield ratio (yield after milling) of the PR-126 variety and other hybrid varieties, claiming that it will cause huge losses to them.

BJP leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Friday lashed out at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the “slow” procurement of paddy in the state, alleging that the latter was “turning his back on the farmers” who are facing hardships in the mandis had to contend with.