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Raj Sadosh
Abohar, December 21
The Market Committee in Abohar claims to have recorded a 12.5-per cent increase in its income due to flow of “Narma” and “Desi” cotton from neighbouring segments of Rajasthan, the Punjab Mandi Board has not given a nod for funds to develop a separate yard for kinnow mandi, the cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 3 crore. The arrival of the fruit in the grain market has crossed the 50,000-quintal mark and it has to be stacked under the damaged tin sheet yard earmarked for paddy.
These sheds have not been repaired for the past ten years. “The file is lying in Chandigarh,” Market Committee secretary Jagdish Beniwal said.
The annual budget of the Market Committee is Rs 15 crore but still the sheds, boundary walls, yards are damaged for the past two decades.
The memorandums submitted by commission agents and farmers’ associations to the authorities have proved to be futile. The Mandi Board had earned millions of rupees by putting plots for kinnow market spread over 9 acres of land on auction in 2011.
The construction is yet to start as the mandi has not been developed. Farmers Sukhjit Brar, Pradeep Kumar and Om Parkash alleged exploitation by traders who reportedly indulged in pool conspiracy to force farmers sell good-quality kinnow at Rs 8-10 per quintal. The average price has been just Rs 6.
About 100 integrated units for kinnow fruit’s grading, sorting, washing and packing have been established in Abohar and neighbouring villages. The project envisaged procurement of farm-fresh top quality produce harvested at optimum size and nutritional value, pre-graded at the farm level and brought to the packing house to be washed, sorted, graded and packed as per market requirement to enhance their shelf life. Thick fog these days makes fruit sweet, farmer say.
The National Horticulture Mission (NHM) had in 2010 constituted a joint inspection team of Dr RC Upadhyaya, chief consultant, NHH; Dr YR Chanana, former head, Department of Horticulture; Dr KG Singh, Senior Research Engineer; and Dr Rakesh Sharda of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; for the evaluation of the ongoing projects. The report submitted by the team suggested measures to promote diversification in the areas which had problems in developing orchards, but there has been no follow up so far.
Leader of the Opposition Sunil Jakhar says, “Not only the funds remained unutilised, the government was unable to check exploitation by powerful lobby of transport mafia too. I had urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to curb activities of truck and canter transport unions which were governed by SAD and BJP activists. Fruit growers are not allowed to use their own vehicles to transport produce to other markets. The unions, which had no locus standi in the eyes of law, had been charging “jazia” from the vehicles if the consignees refused to pay higher freight, he said.
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