ON a sultry May afternoon, 51-year-old Mahendra Singh wanders barefoot in Hisar’s new grain mandi (market). After a while, he gets tired and sits down on a pile of sacks filled with mustard. Mahendra says he has been coming to this market every day for the last 26 days, but no one is ready to buy his mustard crop at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) as promised by the government. Due to lack of electricity and water facilities in the villages, he had rented a generator for the maintenance of the crops. As he could not sell his crops, he has not been able to return the outstanding money for the generator to the owner. “This government has made us sad. Neither our crops are getting sold, nor are our children getting jobs,” says Mahendra.
Shyam Singh, an adhati (broker) from the same mandi, is trying to help Mahendra Singh. “For the last few years, the government has digitised the process of selling and buying crops. The work that we used to do here earlier is now being done on an online portal developed by the government. This has created a lot of confusion among farmers,” he says.
Denne historien er fra June 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra June 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Caste Census: To Conquer Or Conserve?
The caste census is generating heated debate, but even its most ardent proponents are not able to articulate a plan about how to use the resulting data
THE FATEFUL COMEDY
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The caste question in Muslims.
Backward March
The Maratha reservation question may continue to mire the next government in the state
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United Indifference
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Crème de la Crème
The mainstream society thinks reservations are against right to equality. It’s high time they are seen in the context of right to justice.
Fading Folks
The recent SC ruling on sub-classification within the SC and ST categories temporarily lifted the hopes of tribal communities in Jharkhand
