Traders in MP mandis begin 3-day strike against Govt’s eNAM

Traders of grain markets spread across 270 cities and towns in Madhya Pradesh are participating in the three-day strike.

“Traders are facing problems due to complications of the e-auction scheme. Despite this, government officials are pressurising us to trade online and want us to get a licence for it,” Agrawal told PTI.
Express photo by Dilip Kagda

Traders in Madhya Pradesh’s agriculture markets on Thursday began a three-day strike to protest against the alleged complications of the Union government’s National Agriculture Market (eNAM) platform.

The Union Agriculture Ministry’s eNAM is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

It was launched with the objective of providing competitive and remunerative prices to farmers for their produce through an online competitive bidding process.

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Gopaldas Agrawal, president of the Sakal Anaj Dalhan-Tilhan Vyapari Mahasangh Samiti, an organisation of agriculture markets traders, said the strike was against the “complications” of the eNAM system.

He said that traders of grain markets spread across 270 cities and towns in Madhya Pradesh are participating in the three-day strike.

Traders at Bhopal’s local mandi, however, are not taking part in this strike.

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He said that striking traders were also opposed to the e-permit system which they are required to acquire in order to transport agricultural commodities from mandis.

“Traders were badly affected due to demonetisation and GST. The government is increasing our problems by introducing new and complex systems,” Agrawal alleged.

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