FARMERS IN HARYANA PROTEST DELAY IN PADDY PURCHASE

KARNAL: Upset over delay in procurement by government agencies, paddy growers from across Haryana held protests at the grain mandis on Friday.

The protesters threatened to intensify their agitation if the government fails to start procurement within the next 24 hours.

In Karnal, thousands of farmers and mandi labourers gathered at the local market committee office and staged protest against the government’s decision to postpone procurement to October 11.

The agitators also locked the gate of the market committee office and raised slogans against the BJP-JJP government.

Earlier, the government had announced to start the procurement from September 25 and later it was deferred to October 1.

But late on Thursday, the Union government wrote to the state governments of Punjab and Haryana to start procurement of Parmal varieties of paddy to October 11.

The protest was led by BKU (Charuni) district president Jagdeep Singh Aulakh and Karnal Arhtiya Association president Rajneesh Chaudhary.

Aulakh announced that farmers will gherao the CM’S residence in Karnal on Saturday.

Similar protests were reported from Kaithal, Kurukshetra and Panipat districts as farmers locked the gates of market committees to express their resentment.

Congress slams BJP govt Slamming the Bjp-led governments at the Centre and in Haryana for delaying the procurement of paddy, the Congress on Friday said postponement of procurement will prove detrimental to farmers’ interests.

Addressing a press conference, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala also demanded relaxation in moisture parameters for government procurement.

Attacking the BJP government’s decision to postpone procurement of paddy till October 11, Surjewala said the anti-farmer face of the Modi-khattar governments has been exposed once again.