Kurukshetra: Farmers protesting alleged errors in paddy-related data uploaded on govt portal locked the naib tehsildar’s office at the New Mini Secretariat here on Tuesday. The protest, led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), continued for nearly two hours before the farmers unlocked the office after SDM Aman Kumar assured them the issue would be resolved by 2 pm on Wednesday.The farmers reached the office around 11.30 am, carrying a chain and lock. They locked the office and staged a sit-in outside, raising slogans against the administration over alleged discrepancies in crop and land records.Sanjay Nambardar, district president of the union, alleged that revenue officials had entered incorrect information on the portal without physically visiting the fields. He claimed that officials sent farmers from one office to another without resolving the issue.According to the union, discrepancies in paddy and land records in a single patwar circle had affected farmers from around 20 villages, preventing them from selling their produce at mandis.Sanjay alleged that incorrect data was uploaded for more than 50 farmers. In some cases, non-basmati paddy was recorded as basmati, while agricultural land was incorrectly marked as barren.He said these discrepancies create difficulties for farmers trying to sell their produce and obtain gate passes at procurement centres.The farmers claimed they had been visiting the offices of the SDM, tehsildar and patwari for nearly 20 days to get their records corrected. They also submitted a complaint during a grievance redressal camp, but the issue remained unresolved.The protesters alleged that officials kept referring them to other departments instead of correcting the errors on the portal.Ravinder Singh, a farmer, said the portal initially recorded non-basmati paddy on his nearly 13 acres of land. However, the records later showed around seven acres under basmati paddy, while nearly two acres were marked as barren.He said the incorrect entries created hurdles in selling his crop and obtaining a gate pass.Before reaching the New Mini Secretariat, the farmers assembled near Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk on KDB Road and took out a protest march to the administrative complex. They then locked the naib tehsildar’s office and staged a sit-in outside.Following the intervention of officials, SDM Aman Kumar heard the farmers’ grievances and assured them that the incorrect data would be rectified by 2 pm on Wednesday. The farmers subsequently opened the lock around 2 pm on Tuesday.The farmers sought prompt correction of their records so that they could sell their paddy without further delay.
