Punjab farmers refuse direct cost of MSP bypassing arhtiyas

Even although the Punjab authorities agreed to the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to farmers towards the acquisition of foodgrains, the farmers and middlemen within the state are nonetheless not able to abandon their current system. In a state of affairs that appears to defy logic, farmers in Punjab are saying they don’t need cost towards their crop straight into their financial institution accounts, however need to route the identical thorough fee brokers, the place the brokers will launch the cost after conserving a fee.
While the acquisition of meals grains by the state procurement companies for the Rabi harvesting session was to start out from at this time, it was blocked by protestors at a number of locations in Punjab. Not a single truck of wheat arrived at Asia’s largest grain market in Khanna in Ludhinana, as farmers stayed away from it. Labourer unions and arhtiyas (fee brokers) staged a strike towards the scheme of direct cost to the farmers, in ‘support’ of the farmers.
The General Secretary of Majdoor Union in Punjab stated that “if centre’s direct benefit transfer scheme is implemented, it will destroy farmers”. He stated that the majdoor union employees have staged strike supporting farmers who’ve been protesting for previous few months.

We have staged strike supporting farmers who’ve been protesting for previous few months. If Centre’s direct profit switch scheme is carried out, it is going to destroy farmers: General Secretary Majdoor Union, Punjab pic.twitter.com/MGLDKZwJpA— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2021
One Arhtiya stated that the strike will proceed until their calls for are met. He stated that because of the resolution of the centre to make direct cost to the farmers, the labourers can be in hassle as they take their funds from the arhtiyas.
In the grain mandi in Jalandhar, some farmers arrived with their wheat, however they might not promote it because the arhtiyas and labourers have been in strike. The farmers claimed that direct cost isn’t useful to them as arhtiyas have been additionally used to pay the identical quantity, and in instances of difficulties they might method the fee brokers for monetary help, which can be not doable now in the event that they stored out of the system.
After resisting the DBT for MSP cost towards foodgrain procurement for months, Punjab govt had, finally, agreed to the identical this week, after the central govt made it clear that if the scheme isn’t carried out, the centre is not going to elevate the inventory from the state. The centre refused the state govt to exempt it from the scheme, and provides extra time to it to implement the scheme. The state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Bada stated that the state authorities has “no other choice” however to implement the DBT for farmers from the present season itself.
After the announcement by the state authorities, the arhityas had introduced that they are going to go on a strike from tenth April, the date when the procurement for the present session was to start.