New Delhi: A group of farmers on Saturday ended their blockade at the national highway near Shahabad in Kurukshetra after a consensus was reached that the Haryana government will procure the paddy kept in mandis.
The farmers demanded that the government immediately begin paddy procurement immediately.
Haryana government will procure the paddy kept in mandis under their monitoring, news agency ANI reported. 'J form' (sale receipt of a farmer's agricultural produce in mandis) will be issued from October 1.
Gurnam Singh Chaduni, President, Bhartiya Kisan Union said: "We had talks with the district administration & they've ensured that paddy procurement will start immediately. As our demands have been met, we have decided to lift the blockade on the road."
Superintendent of Police Surinder Singh Bhoria said that traffic on the highway has been resumed and all the diversions have been removed. "We have held talks with the farmers and the matter has been resolved amicably," he mentioned, as quoted by ANI.
High Court Pulls Up Haryana Government
According to a report by NDTV, the Haryana government after it was pulled up by court for failing to anticipate the blockade situation. The court stated that the highway must be kept open for free movement of traffic without obstructions "so that the public at large is not put to inconvenience".
As per the report the Punjab and Haryana High Court held a midnight hearing and said the district administration should have immediately taken steps to prevent the situation.
The HC directed the Haryana government to prevent further deterioration of law and order. "Resort to the use of force should be the last option, and that too unless the administration has no other way out," it said, as quoted by NDTV.
Farmers' Blockade
The procurement of Kharif crops, including paddy, in Haryana was slated to start on October 1. Addressing the farmers at the protest site on Friday, Chaduni said the government should immediately begin the procurement process. The farmers also demanded an increase in calculating paddy yield per acre from 22 quintals to 30 quintals for procurement.
"Until our demand is accepted, the blockade will not be removed from the highway," Chaduni said, as per news agency PTI.
More than 700 farmers assembled near the Udham Singh Memorial situated on Barara Road near GT Road around 11 am on Friday.
As per PTI, Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Shahabad Kapil Sharma reached the spot and asked the farmers to call off their protest as the government had agreed to calculate the paddy yield per acre as 28 quintals instead of 22 quintals at present. On the other hand, farmers gave 45 minutes for the district administration to decide on their demand of government purchase of paddy.
The district administration then held meetings with the farmers and agreed to take a delegation to Chandigarh for further talks with senior government officials.
According to an official statement, crops such as paddy, millet, maize, moong, sunflower, groundnut, til, arhar and urad will be procured during the marketing season 2022-23.