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MIANWALI, May 10: Wheat growers are facing a host of problems due to the corruption and irregularities of food department staff.
The food employees are playing the role of agent for the big fish in the trade which are called arhti. They embezzle gunny bags and provide them to arhtis.
A group of farmers told this scribe the tale of their plight at the Wan-Bhachran procurement centre. They said when a tractor-trolley loaded with wheat bags reached the centre, a food employee extorted Rs10 for allowing it to stand in queue for unloading. They charged Rs4 per bag as ‘unloading fee’, and then demanded Rs50 per tractor-trolley as shukrana for accepting their wheat.
They alleged that the staff had tampered with the weighing machines and confiscated two wheat bags on the pretext that the bags were underweight. They expressed their surprise over the loss of five kilograms of wheat per bag as when they filled them in their fields, they weighed 100 kgs.
They claimed that such tactics of the government employees were forcing them to sell their wheat to arhtis at lesser rates.
Same is the story of procurement centres at Isakhel, Mari-Indus, Mianwali and Piplan.
SARGODHA: Wheat growers are facing hardships in selling their produce at various procurement centres in the district.
Growers say they face hurdles in getting gunny bags. Similarly, they alleged, procurement was not being made without the recommendation of elected nazims and other officials.
Nasir Javed Ghuman, president of the Kissan Bachao Tehrik, claimed that small growers were not receiving gunny bags.
