BURNING ISSUE

Minimum support price has been a bone of contention between the farmers in Punjab and the state and Centre

- SARTHAK CHOUDHURY

On September 28, as people gathered around Hall Gate in Amritsar to commemorate Bhagat Singh's birth anniversary, a sight left the people entering the walled city shocked. A group of farmers, riding on tractors and trucks, scattered basmati rice on city roads and demanded that the government ensure a fair price. Starting outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner, the farmer's cavalcade later moved through various roads in the city and scattered the produce on the road.

Anguished over the low prices being offered to them for basmati, a farmer said: "We sold this for ₹3,500-4,000 last time. This time we are selling it for nearly ₹2,000 per quintal. We are poor farmers and don't like wasting. But we see no other way of putting our point across."

MSP or minimum support price has been a bone of contention between the farmers in Punjab and the state and central government. MSP has largely been touted as one of the obstacles in the diversification push the Centre advocates, largely leading to farmers resorting to a two-crop cycle.

This has led to incidents of stubble burning, as the farmers burn the paddy residue to sow wheat. Unlike previous years, the number of stubble burning incidents has reduced considerably this year. From the onset of the stubble burning season son beginning on October 1, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann chaired a meeting to make sure the procurement of paddy is hassle-free.