Grain markets brimming in Malwa region
BATHINDA: Wheat purchase centres across southwest Punjab (Malwa) are choking due to slow lifting of food grains even as the purchase by government and private agencies is going on at a good pace.
As per information, sudden heavy arrival, delay in allotting transportation contracts and long wait for trains to shift wheat to other states is reulting in the chaos.
Bathinda arhtiya association president Satish Kumar said on Wednesday that farmers were facing problems in unloading wheat due to less space in mandis. According to the Punjab mandi board data, of the seven districts of the south Malwa belt, six were able to lift less than 20% of the total wheat that arrived by 6 pm on Wednesday. Moga district is leading with lifting 32% of the produce that arrived till evening.
However, the region is registering 80-97% of purchase of wheat on arrival in mandis to date. Official information says Ferozepur recorded maximum wheat arrival in the region with 3.54 lakh tonnes and 3.42 lakh of it was purchased by government agencies and private agencies. But only 22,000 tonnes have been lifted from mandis in Ferozepur so far.
In Mansa, 3.32 lakh tonnes of wheat reached in different purchase points and 82% or 2.71 lakh tonnes were bought. Till Wednesday evening, 82% of the total purchased crop was still lying in mandis. Bathinda, the district with largest area under wheat in the southwest part of Punjab, was able to lift only 18% of the total wheat stock of 3.09 lakh tonnes. Bathinda has 10 market committees, the maximum in the region, where 2.47 lakh tonnes have already been bought. Muktsar deputy commissioner (DC) Vineet Kumar said a glut-like situation in mandis was due to heavy arrival of crop this season.
“Harvesting was delayed due to unseasonal rain. Mandis have experienced heavy arrival of 50,000 tonnes in the past four to six days that choked mandis. After reviewing the ground situation, plans have been framed to expedite lifting and we expect things will improve in two to three days,” said the DC.