{
  "id": 8959666,
  "title": "APMC Staff Protest Against Secretary, Halt Crop Auction In MP’s Bhikangaon",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/apmc-staff-protest-against-secretary-halt-crop-auction-in-mps",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-21T16:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/apmc-staff-protest-against-secretary-halt-crop-auction-in-mps-bhikangaon"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Monday, a dispute erupted at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Bhikangaon, Madhya Pradesh, as staff members staged a protest against the handling of their duties by the secretary, Jamna Mandloi. The labor unrest resulted in the suspension of crop auction proceedings for approximately an hour, causing inconvenience to farmers and traders who were awaiting their turn.\n\nAccording to the employees, the promoted staff members, including those who received promotions to market inspector and assistant grade-3, were not furnished with duties commensurate with their new roles. They claimed that despite multiple requests, the specific duties were not issued. Additionally, the staff members took issue with market inspectors being assigned auction-related tasks instead of focusing on inspection and monitoring.\n\nThe protest also highlighted a perceived bias in the allocation of system IDs for online contract and deal sheet preparations, which the staff alleged was given to outsourced guards, peons, and employees from different cadres. Furthermore, they denounced the reassignment of responsibilities of key branches to employees, even though the Madhya Pradesh State Agricultural Marketing Board had revoked their previous assignments through an order issued on August 17. The staff also pointed out preferential treatment towards certain employees.\n\nResponding to the situation, secretary Jamna Mandloi stated that duties had been distributed among all employees based on the operational requirements of the market. She added that the officer-in-charge had been apprised of the matter. Meanwhile, 213 candidates received government appointment letters at the 20th Rozgar Mela held in Indore.",
  "summary": "Bhikangaon (Madhya Pradesh): Tension between employees and the administration at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Bhikangaon, surfaced on Monday when staff members protested against the working style of secretary Jamna Mandloi. The protest halted the auction of agricultural produce for nearly an hour, leaving farmers and traders waiting. Employees alleged that promoted staff…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}