Sitting on a worn-out charpoy beside his wheat-laden trolley, Acchar Singh from Amloh stared at the heap of wheat from his five-acre land that had not moved an inch in three days. He had reached the region’s largest grain market, Khanna mandi in Ludhiana district, on the evening of April 12, carrying what he called “a season’s worth of hope”. By April 14, that hope had begun to feel like a burden. “Tin din ho gaye… koi kharid nahi hoyi. Sirf kehnde ne sampling chal rahi hai (Three days have passed, but no purchase has taken place. They say sampling is going on),” he said, his voice carrying fatigue and frustration.Around him, the mandi had turned into a waiting ground rather than a marketplace, with hundreds of farmers sitting beside their produce as central teams moved from yard to yard collecting wheat samples to assess shrivelling and loss of lustre.Even though the strike by state procurement agency officials ended a day ago, farmers say the situation on the ground has barely changed. Procurement remains slow and uncertain, no longer because of the strike but due to confusion over quality norms. Inspectors from agencies such as Markfed, Pungrain, PUNSUP and warehousing corporations, after a meeting with a Joint Secretary in the Union government, have resumed duty, but with caution. They have made it clear that, for now, they will procure only wheat that meets standard specifications and are avoiding shrivelled grain until any official relaxation is granted.Ameik Singh, a farmer from Khanna who has also been waiting for three days, pointed to his produce and said, “Mere tin din ho gaye ne. Hun kehnde ne sirf normal dana hi kharidenge. Je thoda vi shrivelled hoya, oh vi ruk jaayega. Phir assi ki kariye, eh tan mausam di maar hai (I have been here for three days. Now they say only normal grain will be purchased. If it is even slightly shrivelled, it will be held back. What are we to do? This is due to weather),” he said.The uncertainty has left farmers anxious, especially as many believe their crop has been affected by untimely rains earlier this month, leading to visible lustre loss and shrivelling.Also Read | Acute labour shortage hits cane supply to Punjab sugar mills; low yields and shrinking area deepen crisisThis is not the scene in just the largest grain market of the region; almost every mandi in Punjab is witnessing a similar situation. Central teams have been collecting samples across the state for the past three days, after which analysis will determine whether relaxation will be granted for shrivelled grain and loss of lustre. Meanwhile, arrivals in mandis have increased manifold.Punjab, which has around 35 lakh hectares under wheat cultivation this season, is expecting procurement of nearly 1.2 to 1.3 crore tonnes. This is the peak arrival period, but mandis are already witnessing congestion as procurement fails to keep pace. Trolleys loaded with wheat stretch across yards, while farmers continue to wait under the open sky, unsure whether their crop will qualify under current norms.Story continues below this adOfficials on the ground admit they are caught in a difficult position. Jasbir Singh Rakkar, president of the Markfed Employees Union Punjab, said, “We raised two issues in the meeting. If we procure only normal grain and the shrivelled grain is left behind, it will create large-scale problems in the mandis. Farmers will be distressed, and there will also be pressure on our agency employees.” He added that inspectors fear backlash from farmers if large portions of their crop are rejected.At the same time, he said procuring shrivelled grain without official relaxation is not an option. “Even if we procure shrivelled grain, the FCI will not accept it. It is allowed only up to a certain limit, which is 6 per cent, but at some places we have observed shrivelled grain up to 20 per cent. In such a condition, how can we go against the prescribed specifications,” he said. According to him, unless the government formally allows relaxation after analysing the samples collected by central teams, agencies cannot risk procuring substandard grain.This has effectively left farmers stuck in limbo, caught between resumed operations and restricted procurement.The situation has been aggravated by unseasonal rains in the first week of April, which delayed harvesting and affected grain quality, leading to loss of lustre. Earlier, by the end of February and in the first two weeks of March, rising temperatures had also impacted grain size, resulting in shrivelling in some cases. Now, with central teams collecting samples for these parameters, procurement decisions have become even more cautious. “Saadi mehnat nu hun report naal naap rahe ne. Assi fasal leke aa gaye haan, par hun vi koi guarantee nahi ke saari fasal kharidi jaayegi (Our hard work is now being judged through these reports. We have brought our crop, but there is no guarantee the entire produce will be purchased),” Acchar Singh said, picking up a handful of wheat grains and examining them.Story continues below this adArhtiyas said that while the end of the strike was expected to ease the situation, the ground reality remains tense. Ravinder Singh Cheema, president of the Arhtiya Association, said, “The strike has ended, but the problem hasn’t. Until a clear order on relaxation is issued, procurement cannot proceed at full pace. This is the peak season, and mandis are already getting overcrowded.”Adding to the anxiety are weather forecasts predicting another western disturbance around April 16–17, raising fears of fresh rain. Farmers worry that any further delay could damage their crop even more while it lies exposed in the mandis.As evening sets in, farmers prepare for another night beside their trolleys, uncertainty weighing heavily on their minds. For thousands of farmers across Punjab’s mandis, the question is no longer just about delay; it is about whether their entire harvest will be accepted at MSP or face cuts due to shrivelling and loss of lustre.Thousands of labourers who have come from other states to work in the mandis during the procurement season say they are sitting idle as work has yet to begin. Darshan Lal, chairman of the Labour Union Punjab at Khanna mandi, said the arrival of labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is already far below normal this year, less than 50 per cent of what is typically required during the peak season. “Even those who have come are sitting without work because procurement has not started properly,” he said. He added that labourers in Punjab are already paid less compared to other states, and such delays are causing significant financial losses for migrant workers who depend on this short window for their earnings.