BALLARI: With the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections in place, Ballari and Vijayanagar district administration officials have seized chilli worth Rs 15 lakh in the last two days after farmers failed to produce e-way bills.
As per election rules, people transporting agriculture produce and other goods from one place to another have to produce proper documents.
Fearing such issues, deputy commissioners of Ballari and Vijayanagara last month held meetings with farmers, especially chilli growers, instructing them to carry e-Way bills while transporting their produce. Now that many checkposts have been set up ahead of the elections to curtail the movement of cash, liquor and other poll allurements to win over voters illegally, all vehicles are being checked thoroughly.
The district administration officials have again instructed farmers and merchants to carry all the documents to avoid trouble.
‘Farmers failed to produce papers’
Ballari Deputy Commissioner Prashanth Kumar Mishra on Tuesday said 11 quintals of chilli worth Rs 15 lakh were seized because of a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Farmers and transporters failed to produce the documents and chilli had to be seized, he added. “As Ballari produces the best quality chilli, we had instructed farmers and traders to follow the Model Code of Conduct strictly. We will soon put out all the details,” he said.