No operator to run Bhogpur maize dryer, farmers upset

JALANDHAR:The multi-crop dryer plant, built at the cost of ₹8 crore, in the Bhogpur grain market is proving to be a white elephant as it has been lying non-functional for over a month.

As per sources in mandi board, a full-time operator is awaited to run the plant, for which tenders have been floated that would open on October 15.

The government had set up two maize dryer plants in grain markets of—Bhogpur and Adampur— in 2014 to promote crop diversification with central assistance.

Initially, these plants were being operated by the state government but soon after the state agricultural marketing board expressed its inability to run these plants due to heavy maintenance cost during off season, the operations were handed over to private firms. However, the contract with the operator running the Bhogpur plant lapsed over a month ago and it has been lying non-functional since then.

Surinder Singh, a member of farmer union, said they had requested the agriculture department to hand over the operations of the plant to local farmers, but no avail.

He said “crores have been wasted by the government on building a plant which is offering no service to farmers”.

The plants have four large driers with a capacity of 60 tonnes and can produce 240 tonnes dry maize in a go.

District mandi officer Varinder Khera said a fresh tender has been floated and the plant would be made operational soon.Officials said the government has fixed minimum support price (MSP) of ₹1,835 per quintal for the current fiscal and the welldried maize will fetch them over ₹2,000 a quintal. He informed that 31,855 tonne of crop has arrived in the Mandi, of which 29,075 were purchased by agencies. On the contrary, the farmers claim that they are forced to sell their crops on reduced rates due to high moisture content in the wake of recent rains and absence of the facility.