In his order, Yamunanagar DC Parth Gupta said he has come across the fact that following the ongoing rabi harvesting, the straw and chara are being sold out of the district, particularly to paper mills in Himachal Pradesh, which may lead to its scarcity for animals and increase in price.

“To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to impose curbs on its transportation from April 22 till further orders. Police will ensure that the orders are being implemented,” the DC added.

This comes days after the dairy farmers, mostly from the complexes in the twin towns, flagged the unavailability of straw for their cattle. They claimed that the prices this time are almost double than the last year between, but its shortage has left them anxious.

Farmers Jai Dayal, Nitesh Kumar and others from Jagadhri met the DC last week apprising him of the fact that most of their fellows were left with almost zero fodder stock and their animals were starving. The situation is no different at gaushalas.

Experts believe that the government is late to decide on the restrictions, as mechanised harvesting is almost complete in the region and if the situation doesn’t improve in the coming days, the milk prices might also increase.

Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) has objected to the DC’s order, pointing out that the administration is trying to cut their profits through such a decision and farmers should be free to sell their produce anywhere to earn profit.

District unit president Sanju Gudiana said, “Farmers are already facing losses due to less wheat yield this season and the government is not paying heed to their demand for a bonus. The ban on the sale of fodder will further reduce its profit. We have informed the administration several times about the black marketing of fertiliser and urea in the past, but there was no action. Then, why such orders now?”