Election Fee ordered the fertiliser ministry to take away PM’s picture from the luggage.
Bhopal:
Farmers in Madhya Pradesh are compelled to attend in lengthy queues to purchase fertiliser after a full inventory turned unfit on the market as a consequence of negligence of district officers. Weeks after the mannequin code of conduct was imposed, officers didn’t erase or cowl up photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on fertiliser packets and now they can not be legally distributed.
The mannequin code of conduct, which was applied within the state on October 9, dictates that state-distributed merchandise cannot have pictures or symbols of any political social gathering or chief. Upon receiving a criticism, the Election Fee ordered the Ministry of Chemical compounds and Fertilizers to take away PM’s picture from the sacks.
However with no finish to the scarcity in sight and fearing delay in Rabi sowing season, anxious farmers are shopping for baggage of fertiliser at over-inflated costs. Hari Singh Saini, a farmer from Entkhedi village close to Bhopal, has managed to buy solely 15 baggage of DAP, a phosphate-based fertiliser, for his 12-acre land. “Our bills have gone up by 20%. It has change into very tough. We are going to find yourself with a decrease yield, incomes near nothing from this crop,” he mentioned.
In Bhopal’s Nipaniya Jat village, one farmer is being given one sack of DAP and two sacks of Urea. Though fertiliser with the revised packaging is obtainable, farmers complain of rising costs.
Lokendra Jat, an area farmer says a bag of urea which was once 50 kg bag is now repackaged into 45 kg baggage whereas the worth stays the identical. “A bag of DAP used to value Rs 1,200 however its now Rs 1,365. The worth of granular fertiliser has additionally gone up from Rs 310 to Rs 468. This can impression the yield,” he added.
Though Rewa and Dewas should not going through a scarcity as a consequence of incorrect packaging, farmers complain of ready in queues for over 5 hours and compelled to make two to 3 journeys to get fertiliser only a few baggage of fertiliser.
In Mandsaur, the revision of packaging has led to a confusion with even the accurately packaged fertiliser being distributed at gradual charges. Ramesh Masare, an area Tehsildar advised NDTV, that the lengthy queues are attributable to farmers from different districts coming there to purchase fertiliser however denied any information of scarcity.
As each BJP and Congress intensify their ballot campaigns within the state, the difficulty additionally got here up within the speeches of social gathering leaders and Union ministers.
Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that there isn’t a fertiliser scarcity within the state and denied any lengthy queues exterior distribution centres. “When the BJP authorities is in energy, there has by no means been any scarcity of urea or fertiliser for the farmers. Supply has been accomplished on time to farmers with out standing in queue. Even immediately, there isn’t a drawback in fertiliser distribution in Madhya Pradesh,” she mentioned.
However, Congress chief Priyanka Gandhi whereas addressing a rally in MP accused BJP of “dishonest farmers and never doing something for them”.
As per officers about 6.42 lakh metric tonnes of urea arrived within the state, 2.86 lakh metric tonnes has been offered with 3.56 lakh metric tonnes leftover. Out of the whole 4.31 lakh metric tonnes of DAP, 2.03 lakh metric tonnes has been distributed.