Punjab: Cong leader Bajwa blames state, Centre for ‘slow’ paddy procurement

Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday accused the state and the Central governments of “conspiring to destroy” Punjab’s economy by failing to clear godown space for the fresh paddy crop. Bajwa, leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly, said he visited the grain markets in Sanaur, Ghanaur and Patiala, where he interacted with farmers, commission agents and rice sheller owners, all of whom expressed “deep frustration” over the ongoing “paddy procurement crisis”.
He said only 18 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of the expected 185 LMT paddy harvest reached mandis, and many farmers were “coerced into” accepting unfair cuts of ₹300 per quintal due to the lack of government intervention.
In Hoshiarpur district, a group of farmers, led by Gurnam Singh, state general secretary of Pagri Sambhal Lehar, blocked vehicular traffic at Adda Bhangala on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway and at Hardo Khundpur on the Hajipur-Harse Mansar link road to protest the “tardy” paddy procurement. The district administration redirected traffic through alternative routes.
At Alampur on the Dasuya-Miani link road, members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (Piddi Group) blocked traffic for more than three hours in front of the grain market.