Farmers Block Border Due to Restriction on Entry of Paddy from Uttar Pradesh

Hundreds of commuters were forced to bear the brunt of a farmers' protest across the Yamuna River bridge on the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border yesterday.

Farmers were protesting against the Haryana government's decision not to let paddy from Uttar Pradesh into Karnals grain market.

Farmers reported the state has banned the arrival of PR paddy from Uttar Pradesh in Haryana's grain markets, causing dozens of tractors and trailers loaded with paddy to be halted at the border.

"Most Karnal district farmers have land in UP and have produced paddy there. However, we are no longer permitted to sell it in our district. We've been waiting at the border for around six to seven days. Our product was damaged in trucks. We want the government to give us permission to sell our goods in Karnal," said Gursewak Singh, a farmer from Nagla village.

Another farmer, Kirtpal Singh, stated " Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a mandi system in which farmers could sell their product anywhere in the country, but the BJP government in Haryana was preventing them from selling their produce in Karnal's grain markets."

Farmers from Uttar Pradesh stated that they had been selling their produce in Karnal for numerous years. Their arhtiyas, from whom they have taken advance, are also in Karnal. They urged that the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh government  to establish temporary grain markets on the Haryana-UP borders where farmers could sell their crops throughout the year. 

Commuters were stressed out as a result of the farmers protest, and many blamed farmers for the inconvenience. 

"I was on my way from Meerut to Kurukshetra. I had luggage with me and couldn't cross the Yamuna River bridge because of the traffic," a woman stated.

Similarly, an ambulance driver stated that while farmers' concerns were valid, the ambulance should have been permitted to pass. "I was bringing a patient from Shamli who needed emergency treatment, but we were stuck in traffic," the driver said.

Satpal Singh, in-charge of the Manglora police station told, "We are in contact with the authorities in UP and Karnal.

Only the PR paddy is not permitted to enter the border, despite the fact that the basmati varieties are. We will enable PR paddy access as soon as we obtain orders from the district government.”