Farmers facing difficulties in paddy procurement staged a protest under the leadership of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in Haryana’s Jagadhri, locking the office of the Mandi Secretary located opposite the district secretariat. The demonstration continued from 11 am to 2 pm.
 

The protest was jointly led by Harpal Singh Suhail, Naib Singh and Vijay Pal. The farmers raised concerns over the slow pace of procurement, problems with mandatory online crop registration and verification, and other issues affecting the sale of their produce. They demanded the scrapping of the portal-based procurement system.
 

Farmers Raise Concerns Over Portal Errors
 

Farmer leaders said the government had promised to begin paddy procurement on October 1, but the process had been moving at a very slow pace.
 

They alleged that mandatory crop registration and verification through the online portal had caused considerable inconvenience. According to the protesters, several discrepancies had emerged in crop registration records.
 

In some cases, they said, other individuals had registered farmers’ crops on the portal using mobile numbers that were later found to be inactive. Farmers also reported discrepancies between the actual area under cultivation and the acreage recorded on the portal.
 

The protesters further objected to the limit of 27 quintals of paddy per acre, saying the restriction was preventing some farmers from selling their entire produce.
 

Moisture Testing and Slow Procurement Add to Problems
 

Farmers also complained about inconsistent readings from moisture-testing machines. They claimed that these variations were causing financial losses of between Rs 100 and Rs 300 per quintal.
 

According to farmer leaders, procurement agencies, including HAFED and the Warehousing Corporation, were purchasing paddy at an extremely slow rate.
 

They also said delays in lifting the procured crop had worsened the situation because the government and rice mill owners had not reached an agreement.
 

Commission agents had already filled and stacked paddy bags, leaving mandis short of space and creating additional difficulties for farmers bringing their produce for sale.
 

SKM Demands Removal of Portal-Based System
 

The farmer leaders argued that paddy procurement in Punjab takes place without a portal-based system, allowing farmers to arrive at mandis, sell their produce and leave.
 

They alleged that the system in Haryana appeared to reflect a policy of vendetta and called for the government to end the portal-based process.
 

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha reiterated its demand for the removal of the online portal system, saying the existing arrangements were creating unnecessary hurdles for farmers during the procurement season.
 

Farmers Participate in Protest
 

Several farmers participated in the demonstration and shared their concerns. Those present included Mansingh Panjeta, Davinder Singh, Dharampal Chauhan, Pyare Lal Tanwar, Rajbir Pandora, Jaswinder Suhail, Sukhwinder Singh Kaka, Harbhajan Singh Sandhu, Phool Kumar, Baryam Singh, Kulwant Singh, Vinod Kumar, Shyam Lal and Rajinder Singh, along with many others.