Summary:
Bathinda: Angry over tardy procurement of paddy in the grain markets of Barnala, activists belonging to farmer outfits BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and Punjab Kisan Union on Wednesday disrupted traffic on Bathinda-Chandigarh national highway near Harigarh village. Over 75% of paddy arrived in the mandis have already been procured,” he said. Following the farmers’ protest, traffic had to be diverted through villages causing inconvenience to the commuters.Mohinder Singh, a farmer sitting in Dhanaula mandi (grain market), said he was in the mandi for the last five days to sell his paddy crop harvested from four acres. “We are dependent on the sale of the crop to meet our expenses, but have to sit in the grain market for days before it gets procured,” he said.Barnala deputy commissioner Dharam Pal Gupta said paddy was being procured according to specifications. “We are also looking into the grievances of the farmers..