Procured wheat feared damaged due to rain in Madhya Pradesh

Wheat procured by the government from farmers and lying in the open is feared to have been damaged due to the rains in Madhya Pradesh. While the state government admitted that grains were stored in the open at some procurement centres, opposition Congress blamed it for carelessness despite receiving cyclone warning. Forty-six out of 52 districts of Madhya Pradesh recorded rains as a result of cyclone Nisarga on Wednesday and Thursday.

Several videos of farmers queuing up to sell their produce at procurement centres in the rain surfaced on social media. "Amid the coronavirus pandemic, we salute the farmer for the bumper crop. As of today, we have procured over 1.25- crore metric tonnes of wheat. We are going to leave Punjab behind," Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a video on Twitter. It was raining in many parts due to the cyclone but farmers need not worry as the government will not let them suffer, he said.

The chief minister admitted that wheat was lying in the open at some procurement centres and assured that the government was doing everything to salvage the foodgrains. State Congress chief Kamal Nath alleged that the state government was caught napping. "Despite getting alert about the cyclone, the state government has made no arrangement to store the procured wheat. Several farmers are still queuing up at procurement centres to sell their crop. The purchase of wheat has been closed at several places," Nath said in a statement.

Wheat was purchased between April 15 and May 31 and later the state government reduced the number of procurement centres, the former chief minister alleged. "Even wet wheat should be purchased from farmers. Procurement centres should remain open till all the farmers sell their produce," he demanded. Aam Kisan Union leader Ram Inaniya told PTI that at Harda, farmers are waiting for the last three to four days to sell their harvest. "At most places, the purchased wheat is lying in the open," he said.

Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said the government procured wheat at 4,500 centres set up in the villages. "It's true that wheat was lying in the open at some places. We are trying to minimize the damage caused to the produce lying in the open at these centres. We are also acquiring warehouses for storage and private trucks to transport the wheat," Patel said.