Rain damages wheat at Bathinda godown

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 29

With the city receiving a couple of heavy showers over the past fortnight, wheat kept at the Punjab State Warehouse Corporation godown near the grain market here has been damaged. Scores of bags of wheat may be seen rotting in the open near the godown at the grain market with foul stench emanating out of it.

Talking to mediapersons, district manager of the corporation Praveen Kumar Bansal said the rainfall that lashed the city on July 15 night and July 16 wreaked havoc on the wheat stock stored at the warehouse.

He said though they were yet to make an exact assessment of the loss, they apprehend that 1,500 to 1,600 MT of wheat may have been damaged. He clarified that some of the wheat stock was kept outside on temporary basis, as it was to be dispatched further. On why preemptive measures were not taken to secure the stock from rainfall, he said rainwater didn’t enter their godowns in the past and they had not anticipated such heavy rainfall. He said the process to dispatch wheat, unaffected by rain, was underway while claiming that there was no negligence on their part.