Channi blasts Badal for harassment of farmers in Dana Mandis

Says, Punjab Congress will start agitation in Dana Mandis if the problems are not addressed at the earliest
Sri Chamkaur Sahib/Ropar/Chandigarh, April 19, 2016: The Punjab Congress Legislature Party leader Mr Charanjit Singh Channi today held the Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal responsible for the harassment of the farmers in the mandis who have to wait for days for their produce to be procured. Channi also warned the Government to address the problems of the farmers in Mandis, failing which Punjab congress will start agitation in the Dana Mandis of Punjab.
“The farmers have to wait on an average for three days to get their wheat crop auctioned by the procurement agencies. Then there is the long wait for payment, as money is not being released. The Badal government fails every procurement season despite the fact that all the problems remain the same and can be taken care of well in advance. However, it seems that the only interest of the ruling party leaders is in making money”, he said after visiting Mandis in the Chamkaur Sahib area.
Channi asserted that the decision of the union government and the banks to hold back cash credit limit was proof enough of mismanagement and corruption and this has happened only under Badal regime. He claimed there were never any hiccups in procurement operations during all the five years of the Congress rule earlier.
Terming the recent visit of the Mr Badal with Mr Modi as a cruel joke for the farmers Channi said that today after the produce is lying in the Mandis, the Chief Minister has suddenly wakened up and approached the union government for procurement while the Punjab government itself is totally bankrupt. The Modi government at the centre is not at all serious about the problem of the farmers of Punjab. Today due to financial mess, every day three farmers are committing suicide in Punjab.
He took the Chief Minister to task even for failing to arrange for bardana that is the basic necessity, as the produce can’t be kept in the open after procurement. He said yet another problem was non-lifting of the stocks as this was also related to availability of bardana. He said the requirement of bardana is assessed on the basis of production estimates and order should have been placed for gunny bags well in advance. However, it seemed the government had turned too insensitive to the problems of the people.
He called upon the farmers to teach a lesson to the Akali Dal-BJP combine which was responsible for their harassment saying it was only the Congress that had the track record of being pro-farmer at every level. He said there was no harassment of farmers even during one procurement season during the five year rule of the Congress government earlier. Moreover, the increase in MSP has been the highest during the UPA government at the centre, he added.