Majority of farmers involved in producing Opium were disturbed over no arrangements of Opium purchase by the Narcotic Department from the farmers in the region, said Former State Kisan Morcha president Bansilal Gurjar.
While speaking with The Pioneer, Gurjar said that in the lockdown Opium producers of Mandsaur-Neemuch district are upset as crop has ripen but still farmers are waiting for the department to start the process of procurement.
Opium tenant farmers (who provide share to land owner) are among the most troubled in the district as Opium has come out from the Poppy dodo of tenant farmers, while some farmers did not remove the Opium and submitted their application to the Narcotics Department to recover their crop, but even after a long time, the Narcotics Department has not started any process yet. Due to which the farmers of both the districts are very concerned about the safety of their yield.
He said that Opium starts to dry if kept for long and currently the processes of opium procurement center have not been initiated by the Department of Narcotics for purchasing opium Due to which the poppy farmers have to guard the fields for the protection of Opium round the clock.
There are over 40000 opium tenant farmers on the basis of this number, Narcotics department does the work of purchasing opium every year from the farmers but the delay due to lockdown has happened and the department should take decision at the earliest.