Wheat purchase till Baisakhi breaks 15-yr record in Punjab
CHANDIGARH: Wheat procurement in the ongoing rabi marketing season reached 17 lakh tonnes till April 13, setting a 15-year record for this period.
“The total purchase of wheat touched 17 lakh MT on April 13 which was the highest purchase on this date in the last 15 years,” said an official spokesperson on Thursday.
The rabi marketing season had started on April 1, with mandis and purchase centres set up across the state. Baisakhi, which marks the harvest season in Punjab, was celebrated on Thursday.
Over 20 lakh tonnes of wheat arrived till Wednesday, with government agencies — Pungrain, Punsup, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation and Markfed besides the Centre’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) — procuring nearly 17 lakh tonnes and wheat purchase by private players reaching one lakh tonnes.
The spokesperson further said that this year the state government has already credited payments worth ₹828 crore into the bank accounts of farmers for wheat purchase. Additional payment worth ₹871 crore has been cleared and will be credited into the accounts of farmers, he said.
With Ukraine and Russia — two major wheat exporters worldwide — locked in war, Punjab and other wheat-producing states in India are witnessing an upswing in crop purchases. Punjab has made arrangements for procuring 135 lakh tonnes of wheat in the ongoing season.
Ensure immediate resumption: CM after rain hits procurement
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann directed the state procurement agencies to ensure immediate resumption of mandi operations which were hampered due rain in various parts of the state on Thursday.
A spokesperson of the state government said the chief minister laid emphasis on the welfare of the farmer and directed the officials to ensure that farmers are not put to inconvenience as a result of inclement weather. Light rain accompanied by strong winds lashed many parts of the state leading to the possibility of temporary disruption in mandi operations on Friday.
Acting on the directions of the CM, senior officials of the department of food and civil supplies, Mandi Board, MARKFED, PUNSUP, FCI and Punjab State Warehousing Corporation met late in the evening to chalk out the plan to tackle the situation arising out of the adverse weather conditions existing in most parts of the state.
The spokesperson disclosed that a detailed action plan has been chalked out and the Mandi Board has been asked to deploy all available resources in the state to make sure that any stagnant water is pumped out of the mandi yard within hours of stoppage of rain. Municipal corporations and municipal committees have been asked to keep pump sets on the standby to assist in these operations.