by the collapse of procurement, despite supposedly excellent crops. It is this collapse which has left the government with no option but to drastically cut the supplies through the public distribution system. With the virtual dismantling of the public distribution system thus ensured, the large farmers and traders can now bid up foodgrains prices with even greater freedom. The further rise in food prices will have its inevitable impact on the general price level. This will naturally result in increasing the burden on the wage and salary earners. industrial relations, ailready strained, should therefore be expected to worsen in the coming months. But the government evidently feels that it is easier to get tough with industrial labour and white-collar workers than to persuade the rich farmers and traders to part with their stocks.
