As the wheat stocks are lying in the open in the grain markets and purchase centres, light showers have triggered a scare among the farmers and arhtiyas who want speedy lifting of the wheat in the mandis.

According to information, there were light spells of rain in some districts like Fatehabad, Hisar and Sirsa today.

In Fatehabad district’s Bhuna area, the procured wheat stored in gunny bags got drenched as the stock was lying in the open. About two lakh quintals of wheat were affected in various mandis.

Though the procurement agencies had claimed that they would expedite the lifting starting today, the reports suggest that large stocks are still lying in the open.

While the arhtiyas are concerned over the wheat glut in the mandis due to space crunch, they also feared the stock getting wet as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rains and thunderstorms on April 18 and 19 in the region.

According to the information available till Friday, the lifting of wheat has been reported to be just four per cent in Sirsa, six per cent in Fatehabad and nine per cent in Hisar out of the total procured wheat.

The agencies maintained that there is labour shortage at certain centres which is resulting in slow process of the stock lifting.

A senior official in Hisar maintained that the contractor who was given the contract for lifting of the stocks was finding it difficult to make labour arrangements.

Anoop Kumar, a farmer from Ladwa village, said the procurement agencies are slow in stock lifting due to which they had to unload the stock out in the open.

Bumper crop this year

The grain markets in the district are all set to surpass last year’s wheat arrival. Till April 15, all 22 procurement centres have received 53,56,784 quintals of wheat. Last year, the district has recorded 56,75,940 quintals, said Ishwar Rana, District Marketing Enforcement Officer, Karnal.