A new challenge for the Congress parties settling into power in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (MP) - is the reported shortage of urea in several districts, despite the Union Fertiliser Minister, Sadananda Gowda’s statement that these states have received more than their fair share of the same.
Gowda, on Friday, 21 December, also claimed that the alleged shortage of urea was being made into a “political issue” and that if there was some shortage of the fertilizer in these states, it was due to the ineffectiveness of those in power to distribute it proportionately, a report by The Times of India stated.
Gowda’s comment came amid the BJP and Congress pointing fingers at one another regarding the urea shortage in these regions.
WHY IS THERE A UREA SHORTAGE IN MP?
While the problems of a shortage of urea in these two states has been ongoing, the crisis reached its head on Thursday, 20 December, when farmers in Raisen, Guna, Dewas and Neemuch districts in MP staged protests and blocked roads, claiming that not only was there a black market in urea, it was privy to only private traders in the state, News18 reported.
Adding to this, former MP Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh alleged that despite the Centre having allocating 3.7 lakh metric tonnes of urea to the state by December, 2018, only 1.8 metric lakh tonnes of supplies had reached the state, the report added.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of the state’s agriculture production, P C Meena claimed that 18 of the 51 districts in the state were facing a shortage in urea- as most of it was getting sent to Haryana and Punjab, instead, Hindustan Times reported.
The farmers, however, claimed that the shortage of the fertilizer in the state was due to the rampant sale of urea in the black market.
WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN RAJASTHAN?
Meanwhile in Rajasthan’s Hadoti district, farmers stood in long lines outside cooperative committee offices to procure urea.
“I have been standing in the queue outside shops for the last couple of days to get 30 bags of urea, but I have not got a single bag.”Raju Nagar, a 45-year-old farmer from Kota told Hindustan Times
Like Digvijay Singh in MP, Congress MLA Bharat Singh blamed the Centre for the ineffective allocation of urea to the state. Hitting back at Bharat Singh, BJP’s Kisan Morcha state secretary Mukut Nagar told Hindustan Times: “farmers are struggling to get urea for the rabi season, it’s for the newly-elected state government to ensure its availability.”
However, Gowda, countering claims made by both parties, claimed that about 2.08 lakh tonnes of urea had reached the state by December, as compared to its requirement of 1.74 lakh tonne, The Times of India reported.
NEW GOVTS IN MP & RAJASTHAN PROMISE TO COUNTER SHORTAGE
The new governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan- led by Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot respectively- have attempted to take steps to try and counter this reported shortage of urea in their states.
MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath wrote a letter to Gowda and asked him to look into the matter, while also holding talks with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal. The main purpose was to urge them to provide additional railway racks and urea and also directed officials to monitor the situation, Hindustan Times reported.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot assured farmers that they wouldn’t face any more urea shortages, and directed chief secretary DB Gupta to speak to additional secretary Dharam Pal, to ensure the availability of the fertilizer. He also asked principal secretary agriculture and cooperative, Abhay Kumar to meet with secretary fertiliser Bharathi Sivaswami Sihag to come up with a solution with the problem, the report added.