Capt Amarinder Singh regrets damage to wheat in mandis; blames Parkash Singh Badal

PATIALA: Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh today regretted the damage to the wheat lying in mandis due to the recent rains and blamed Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for his "negligence".

Regretting the damage caused to the piled up sacks of wheat in grain markets, the Congress MP said that despite all warnings, the SAD-BJP government led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal took no initiative for lifting of the grains lying in the open.

"As if nature's fury was not enough, your callous indifference and negligence in not lifting the wheat in time has further added to the farmers' losses," a statement quoted Capt Amarinder as saying while referring to recent rains that damaged the grains lying in open in the mandis.

The former Chief Minister pointed out that he had been repeatedly warning the government about the possibility of rains but nobody cared to act.

"It was forecasted that rains were likely to be in Punjab and it was the responsibility of the government to take measures to secure the grains," he observed and charged that the government has totally abdicated its responsibility.

Holding the Chief Minister responsible for the damage, he said, "you cannot blame the nature for the recent damages as the grains have been damaged because of the callous negligence of your government as you neither made timely purchases nor did you make any arrangements to save the grains from rains which had been very much predicted."

"Who will pay for the losses suffered by farmers and the arthiyas (commission agents) due to government's negligence," Singh asked.

The Congress MP also alleged that even after one and a half month of procurement season, there were places like Muktsar, the Chief Minister's home district, where not even half of the wheat has been procured so far causing more damage to the grains.