Raising the issue of “irresponsible behaviour” of Congress legislators and Ministers who were rushing to mandis and throwing all social distancing norms to the wind, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Friday asked Punjab Chief Minister to immediately give directions to them not to endanger the health of farmers by crowding mandis only for the sake of a public relation opportunity.
“Due action should also be taken against everyone violating social distancing norms,” said the SAD chief.
Pointing out that e-token system had failed in Punjab, Sukhbir asked the Chief Minister to take immediate corrective steps to avert total chaos in grain markets in the State during the ongoing wheat procurement season.
“Besides the failure of the e-token system, the State's inability to arrange required gunny bags, lack of cleanliness and basic hygiene in mandis and inability to take arhtiyas along in the procurement exercise has exposed the Government's lack of preparation. It seems that most plans have been made on paper only as there is a big mismatch between the announcements of the Government and ground situation,” said Sukhbir.
Speaking about the problems being faced by farmers, Sukhbir said that there was a lot of confusion about the App which generates an e-pass for travel to mandis. “Farmers are not able to validate e-token on their mobiles. Many also do not have smart phones,” he said.
“Farmers are also demanding that they be allowed to weigh their wheat trailers at weigh bridges before entering the mandi to speed up the entire procurement process. Another solution is to set up multiple weigh bridges in each block and ask farmers to get their produce there,” he added.
SAD president said that coming days could be even worse due to severe shortage of gunny bags in most mandis. “There are widespread complaints that basic requirements like adequate water and soap are not being provided in mandis. Besides, farmers should also be allowed to manage their wheat straw immediately and not be told to wait till May 1 as this would affect its quality and quantity besides it is a fire hazard if left unattended,” he added.
Requesting the Chief Minister to intervene and resolve all pending issues of arhtiyas who were on strike, Sukhbir said that the commission agents were demanding payment of Rs 200 crore in dues and insurance cover for labourers besides other issues. “Instead of threatening them with punitive action, the Government should talk with them in farmers’ interest,” he said.