Chandigarh, May 2 (PTI) Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday blamed the BJP-JJP government for the delay in the lifting of wheat crop and the acute lack of arrangements in mandis.

The former Haryana chief minister alleged that lakhs of metric tonnes of wheat in the mandis got wet in the rain due to the negligence of the government.

Also Read | Cyclone Mocha: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Asks Officials To Remain Alert After IMD's Prediction of Cyclonic Circulation Over Bay of Bengal.

While the Meteorological Department had several days in advance predicted a wet spell at the beginning of May after which despite repeated demands by the Congress, the government neither arranged for the lifting of the crop from the mandis nor provided tarpaulin and bags to protect the crop from rain, he claimed in a statement here.

"15 lakh metric tonnes of wheat lying in the mandis of the state is getting wet, and the government remains a mute spectator. Due to the delay in lifting, the farmers have not even been paid.

Also Read | Go Airlines Moves NCLT, Says Pratt & Whitney Not Supplying Spare Engines That Resulted in Grounding of 25 Aircrafts.

"Till now the government has also not even given compensation for the crop damage due to rains that happened in the past..." the Leader of Opposition in Haryana further claimed.

Hooda demanded to improve the system in the mandis, speeding up the process of lifting, payment and compensation to farmers.

Notably, during the past few days, many parts of Punjab and Haryana have witnessed a wet spell.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)