Tonnes of grain lying open in the market in Ferozepur.
Ferozepur, May 8, 2014: Contrary to the tall claims of the government, the farmers are up in arms due to slow lifting of the wheat. It is pertinent to mention here that the administration is making tall claims regarding lifting of the wheat but situation seems to be far cry from the reality. Thousands of tonnes grain can be seen lying in open at the grain markets. Due to slow lifting the farmers are spending their day and night in open, facing endless troubles.
Om Parkash of Ferozepur who spent more than ten sleepless nights here in the open ground at the grain market, baffles at the administration by saying, “sare daawe jhuthe ne bauji, eh tan sanu hi pata he asi kiven time pass kar rahe han (all the claims made by government are false, only we can understand how much trouble we are facing). He says he has more than fifteen thousand bags of wheat, waiting for the lifting. Blaming the administration directly, he says government has no control over contractors and labour. He further says, government has made no arrangement of drinking water and sheds. “How can some spend day and night in open during blistering conditions”, he asks.
Jatinder Singh of Village Malwal Jadid is luckier than Yashpal. Out of fourteen thousand bags, his seven thousand bags have been lifted because he had arranged his own transport for the lifting. He cannot feel relax till the lifting of the last wheat bag. He says that he has spent more than twenty days and nights here in the grain market. He says that our labour is suffering, we have to pay money to them, but they have no work to do. Jatinder Singh and many others have arranged their own temporary sheds to survive the heat of May.
V K Sharma, Commissioner has assured the farmers that the lifting process shall be dealt within a day or two. He further excuses the election process, for the delaying of the lifting process. He assures that transport contractors have been given strict instructions to double the lifting vehicles.