Farmers Not Getting Facilities At Wheat Procurement Centres In Ashta

Ashta (Madhya Pradesh): Many farmers queue up outside the wheat procurement centres to sell wheat. But the process of weighing wheat, due to the lack of enough weighing machines, is slow.

As a result, they are waiting for their number to come for weighing, spending nights under the tractor trolleys laden with wheat.

Sources at the wheat procurement centres said the sudden rain and storm also damaged their produce.

At the beginning, there was a problem of limits of wheat to be procured, but after the officials solved the issue, the problem of the server frequently going down also cropped up.

The delay has spawned resentment among the farmers who are not getting potable water and sheds for spending nights.

Many warehouses are filled with wheat, and there is no room for installing additional weighing machines.

Many Hhamals(porters) have also left their work because of lack of wages.

A farmer from the Mundla Muhabba village, Pankaj Singh Thakur, says there are no arrangements for giving the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce, and drinking water is also not available.

Thakur said he whad beenwaiting for more than four days to sell his produce, and the sa suddenrain and storm damaged wheat which he covered with polythene sheets.

Over 1,02,485farmers registered for selling their produce at MSP, and after the restoration of the server, slots for 91, 631farmers have been booked.

Nearly 3.31 lakh tonnes of wheat have been procured, and the target for procuring wheat is seven lakh tonnes.

The situation at the procurement centre Ambika Warehouse is also chaotic, as the farmers have to wait for tthree orfour days to sell their produce.

A farmer from the Bhatikheda village, Kundal Patel, and another from the Piplia Salarasi village, Tej Singh Patel, said they came to the procurement centre five days ago, but they did not have ca chanceto sell their produce.

According to Tehsilder Omprakash Chorma, as the Ambika Warehouse has been filled with wheat, the farmers are being sent to the Prem Warehouse.

More weighing machines are being installed at the procurement centres, where their number is fewer, Chorma said.