Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh): MLA Kailash Kushwah stood in line wearing a helmet, posing as a farmer at an Agricultural Produce Market in Shivpuri on Saturday.
He waited for nearly an hour with other farmers to buy fertiliser and observe the situation firsthand.
He spent nearly an hour in the queue to personally observe the token distribution process and the problems faced by farmers.
Kushwah said that farmers had been standing in line since 4 a.m., but there was no police, tehsildar, SDM, or other officials present at the site.
Farmers faced pushing and shoving, and some patwaris were giving tokens based on recognising faces, which meant real farmers were not getting their tokens.
The MLA called the collector from the spot to report the mismanagement.
The issues he noted...
He also noted that there was no drinking water arrangement for the farmers. Some farmers waited in line until 10:30 a.m. but still did not receive tokens, while others had already been given tokens earlier.
Kushwah also alleged that fertiliser was being sold at prices higher than the government’s fixed rate at several shops.
He demands action
He demanded that the administration take action against such sellers and ensure fertiliser is sold at the correct rates.
Pohari SDM Anupam Sharma said that the absence of police caused some crowding and pushing, but the situation is now under control.
He assured that better arrangements will be made in the future, and farmers who did not receive tokens will be given them on upcoming dates.
