SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal are residents of this village
23 April, 2026 – Muktsar : The glut at the wheat procurement centre at Badal village in Muktsar district, coupled with the alleged slow pace of lifting, has choked storage capacity, forcing farmers to offload their produce at an adjoining cremation ground.
Farmers said the cremation ground had been doubling up as a storage site for the past two-three days. They alleged that such a situation arises almost every year, but no permanent solution has been found so far.
“The wheat lifting here started only on Tuesday evening. Officials must address the issue. Senior officers rarely visit smaller procurement centres and focus mainly on major mandis,” said farmers.
Badal village falls in the Lambi Assembly segment, currently represented in the Vidhan Sabha by Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal are residents of this village.
Official data till Tuesday evening showed that of the 2,98,952 MT wheat that arrived in mandis, 2,57,395 MT had been purchased, but only 50,413 MT lifted, leaving 2,07,927 MT unlifted. In Badal village, 3,100 MT arrived, 2,850 MT was purchased, but only around 300 MT had been lifted till Wednesday afternoon.
On this, District Food and Civil Supplies Controller (DFCSC) Himanshu Kukkar said lifting was being carried out within 72 hours of purchase. “I will check the situation at Badal village and ask the officials to clear the stock if wheat has been dumped at the cremation ground,” he said.
The Tribune