‘Under-weighing 2 to 3 kg less per quintal’: Punjab farmers complain manipulation of paddy produce

Allegations of crop under-weighing by some commission agents (arhtiyas) in Punjab’s private and government-authorised yards — particularly in certain rice mills — have triggered sharp concern among farmers and arhtiya bodies.

Farmers across several districts claim that a few agents, in collusion with certain mandi officials, are manipulating weighing scales to show less weight than the actual produce, thereby depriving them of fair payment for their paddy produce.

When a farmer brings his/her crop to a mandi, it is first dried up in front of the power fan, then kept in the bags, and later weighed before stitching the bags. It is then transported to the mills where it is stored till milling. All the government-procured paddy in Punjab is stored in the 5,000-odd rice mills first and after