The protesting farmers cleared the National Highway (NH) 44 after the state government agreed to their demands to procure the paddy lying in the mandis and to raise the ceiling on the per acre yield.
Hundreds of farmers blocked the NH 44 in Shahabad, Kurukshetra on Friday. This disrupted the movement of the traffic for the people going to Ambala and Delhi. The highway was blocked till night and the farmers threatened to continue the protest until their demands are fulfilled. They spent the whole night on the highway and had a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of Kurukshetra on Saturday morning.
“Kurukshetra deputy commissioner, Shantanu Sharma, who was mediating between the farmers and the government, has told the farmers that the government has agreed to procure the paddy lying in the mandis,” said Gurnam Singh Chunni, president, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni)
“The government has agreed that the paddy lying in the mandis will be procured to prevent it from getting damaged and the demand of increasing the yield ceiling was already accepted,” said Pankaj Agarwal, commissioner and secretary, of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department, Haryana.
The reason behind the protest is the ignorance of the paddy lying in the mandis. Many farmers sowed the crop early or used early maturing varieties. The harvest has been done and the crops are lying in the mandis. Now, continuous rain has increased the humidity which can spoil the grains.
The official procurement begins on October 1st. But the farmers have demanded an early purchase of the crop as the farmers don’t have enough storage space and the grains can be spoiled by the rains.
The govt has also agreed to increase the ceiling of the per acre yield from 22 quintals to 30 quintals in four districts and 28 quintals in other districts of the state.