Blame game over shortage of urea in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

Urea is sold at the government fixed price of Rs 5,360 per tonnes. It is the most commonly used fertiliser because it is highly subsidised

A shortage of urea during the crucial crop development phase of wheat in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has brought the newly elected state governments in direct confrontation with the Centre with both blaming each other for the crisis.

In Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Kamal Nath wrote to the Union government and also held discussions with state officials to smoothen supplies following reports that farmers were standing in queues for hours to get urea from the societies.

“Six-seven days ago, the problem was acute as daily railway rakes carrying fertilisers were less frequent while demand went up because farmers wanted urea