Allow private dealers to transport urea: Association
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, April 22 2022:
Decrying the restrictions put on private dealers in transporting urea since 2020, All Manipur Fertiliser Dealers' Welfare Association has appealed to the government to allow private dealers to ship in urea into the state from this year onwards.
Addressing a press meet at Manipur Press Club here on Friday, association president Y Iboyaima said that the private dealers have been playing key role in ensuring availability of fertilisers for the last two decades.
Before 1992, the government used to transport fertilisers for farmers but private dealers were entrusted with the responsibility from 1992 onwards as the government could not meet the demand.
Despite the frequent bandhs and blockades, the private dealers ensured availability of fertilisers to the farmers while facing all the hardships, including many trucks burnt by blockade and bandh supporters, he recounted and asserted that the association played a crucial role in maintaining buffer stock despite facing serious obstacles.
The president also pointed out as they had to pay huge illegal taxes to different UG groups, they were not able to sell the fertiliser at the MRP.
Further stating that after the government started the operation on its own, it hired trucks to lift the fertilisers from Jiribam rail station, he maintained that the average cost of urea is Rs 480 per bag and the government sold it to the farmers at a subsidised rate of Rs 266.80 consequently spending Rs 213 per bag while incurring loss of around Rs 10 crore every year.
As such, the move to bar private dealers from transporting fertilisers has a direct impact on the families of the dealers as their source of income was stopped abruptly.
At the same time, the system of distributing urea forces the farmers to travel long distance and stand in serpentine queues to get a bag of urea, Iboyaima said and added that private dealers can ensure availability of urea at the localities of the farmers if allowed.