Sirsa, Oct 28: Sirsa observed potential disruptions to ongoing paddy procurement operations as the Market Committee suspended the operating licences of 16 commission agents for three days at the Kalanwali grain market. Officials affirmed that the regulatory action followed inspections revealing uncleaned paddy containing straw, grass, and foreign matter being packed directly into bags without proper winnowing.
The administrative enforcement triggered immediate pushback from local trader bodies, with the Kachha Arhtiya Association and Arhtiya Association demonstrating at the Market Committee premises and threatening to halt all purchase activities.
Regulatory authorities maintained that the suspensions were issued after repeated warnings and earlier penalty notices failed to curb operational non-compliance across the market yard. District Marketing Enforcement Officer Rahul Kundu confirmed that 55 commission agents had previously received notices and fines of Rs 2,000 each during the current procurement season. In addition to cleaning defaults, market inspectors identified discrepancies of 1 to 2 percentage points in eight private moisture-testing machines compared against government-calibrated devices, directing the concerned firms to secure immediate official certification.
Traders asserted that market committee procedures created unfair pressure on commission agents while dealing with high-volume arrivals. Arhtiya Association President Pradeep Jain stated that traders had formally requested authorities not to unload incoming tractor-trailers under unviable conditions, alleging that agents were subsequently forced into accepting uncleaned grain. He maintained that thorough cleaning of massive grain heaps remains logistically difficult despite ongoing manual efforts, while objecting to short 12-hour response windows provided in notices issued late in the afternoon.
Enforcement measures also extended to nearby markets in the district, where two firms in the Dabwali grain market were penalized Rs 2,400 and Rs 4,000 for failing to meet paddy cleaning standards. With local trader associations urging all commission agents to shutter operations in protest, government officials reiterated that strict adherence to quality norms remains mandatory to protect state procurement integrity during peak arrival weeks.
