category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday alleged the Punjab government has failed moong farmers for a second straight year and they are resorting to distress sales as government agencies have failed to procure their produce. In a statement, Badal demanded that the government agencies procure moong at a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 7,755 per quintal and the AAP dispensation compensate farmers for the losses incurred by them due to distress sales. The Punjab government has failed moong farmers for the second time in a row, the SAD leader said. Last year, farmers sowed moong following a personal appeal by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and an assurance that their produce would be procured at MSP. However, the government procured only 17 per cent of the total produce coming into the market, leading to huge losses for farmers, he charged. This season, government purchases are 77 per cent less than last year. Government agencies have purchased only 2,280 quintals of moong till now compared to 9,902 quintals purchased during the same period last year, he claimed. This is despite the fact that 42 mandis had been notified for procurement of moong, he added. The total abandonment of farmers by the AAP government has left them at the mercy of private traders, Badal said. Private traders have purchased as much as 1.47 lakh quintals of moong from mandis in the state till now, he claimed, adding that farmers are forced to sell their produce for around Rs 1,000 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 7,755 per quintal. Moong cultivation is encouraged in the state to not only lead to crop diversification but also to save groundwater, he said. Badal said Mann had also announced that moong, maize and sunflower seeds would be procured at MSP due to which farmers had increased the acreage under these crops. Now when the time has come to procure the produce, the AAP government has run away from its responsibility, he alleged. Even maize farmers have been left in the lurch. Against the MSP of Rs 2,090 per quintal, maize was sold at Rs 1,900 per quintal recently, Badal said. Badal said it was condemnable that the AAP government was not compensating farmers for their losses through the Bhavantar scheme which is being implemented in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Demanding immediate implementation of the scheme, the SAD chief said farmers who had sold their moong, maize and sunflower seeds at rates less than the MSP should be compensated accordingly. (editor dailyworld.in)