Punjab: Arhtiyas raise concerns over ‘slow’ wheat lifting

By Ashok Kaura

Naresh Bhardwaj, president of the Arhtiya Association, Kapurthala, and former Chairman of the Phagwara Market Committee, raised serious concerns over the ‘slow’ wheat lifting in the main grain market of Phagwara.

He said due to the delay in lifting, the market is overflowing with gunny bags piled up under the open sky.

Bhardwaj pointed out that the government lacks sufficient storage facilities for the procured crop. The continuous spell of bad weather, including rainfall on Sunday, has increased the risk of damage to wheat worth crores of rupees. Weather forecasts predict rain in the coming days, raising fears of further losses.

He attributed the shortage of labour in mandis to these persistent delays in lifting wheat. “Labourers are forced to sit idle for days and their earnings are lost during this unproductive wait. Many leave without enough money to take home,” he said.

Bhardwaj revealed that before the procurement season, a meeting was held with the SDM, Phagwara, attended by arhtiyas and officials of procurement agencies. The issue of timely lifting was raised and government officials had said the process would be completed without delays. However, as in the previous years, those promises have not been translated into action.

He criticised the government’s repeated failure to deliver on its assurances. “Every time, we are told that there will be no inconvenience to farmers, traders or labourers, but these assurances rarely reflect ground reality,” he said.

The situation has now reached a point where so much grain is lying in the mandi that even expedited lifting would prove challenging. Bhardwaj warned that if the wheat is damaged due to rain, the government would be held responsible.

This article has been republished from The Tribune.