Stocks pile up in mandis as farmers wait for hours to unload produce

Gurgaon: Farmers have been facing problems unloading their produce with hardly any space left in the markets as old stock of wheat is still lying. On Monday, the grain market remained packed with trailers, long queues of people and heaps of wheat.
Before the procurement season started, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had claimed that farmers’ produce will be taken up within 24 hours and the amount will be transferred to them within 48 hours.The government itself had banned procurement in mandis on Saturday and Sunday.
But the condition did not improve, in fact, it has got worse with a sudden shortage of labourers with many leaving for their hometowns fearing an extended lockdown.
At Pataudi market, over 4 lakh quintals of grains have been procured while only 1.4 lakh quintals were lifted. At Sohna mandi 61,344 quintals were procured while only 15,000 quintals were lifted.
In the district around 70% of procured wheat is yet to be lifted. Many claimed that transporters were not providing vehicles, according to the quantity of grains registered on the portal.
There is also a shortage of gunny bags, due to which the lifting process has been affected. On Monday, several farmers said that they have been waiting for about six hours to get gate pass.Parveen, a farmer from Pataudi, said that the government was deliberately not speeding up the lifting process.
“Earlier, the government had allowed us to bring crops without a specific schedule. Now, they are asking for it. I reached the mandi with 40 metric tonnes of wheat at 9 am. But I had to wait for a gate pass till 3pm,” he said.
Manveer, another farmer, said he had to wait for five hours. “My brother waited with me for several hours, then he left. I had to keep waiting,” he said.
Asked about the situation, Narender Yadav, secretary of the mandi committee, said: “Government agencies and transporters have been directed to speed up the lifting process. The sudden arrival of wheat has created problems.” He urged farmers to bring their produce according to the schedule.