Rising onion prices cause for concern, says MP

Gurdeep Singh Mann

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 27

Expressing concern over the rising onion prices, Bathinda MP and Union Minister for Food Processing, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said today said efforts were being made by the Centre and the state governments to circumvent such future scenario in the state by raising area under onion cultivation.

She was in Bathinda to offer insurance schemes to 208 girls and women under the Pradhan Mantri Bima Suraksha Yojana (PMBSY) for a period of 10 years as a ‘Raksha Bandhan gift’.

The MP claimed to have given the premium of all these beneficiaries—associated with Nanhi Chhan Punjab Public Charitable Trust project— from her salary.

Speaking on the occasion, she said skill development centres of the Ministry of Textiles, GoI were being set up in Bathinda and Mansa districts. She claimed that nearly 8,000 unemployed youth would be able to get job-oriented training in these centres.

She added that the Mudra Bank—set up with a corpus fund of Rs 1 lakh 22 crore — aims to fuel the entrepreneurship spirit of the poor traders who cannot afford money to expand their business.

Responding to a query on the whitefly attack on the cotton crop, the union minister said the Punjab Government had already ordered girdawari of the affected farmers so that they could be adequately compensated for the losses incurred.

Answering yet another query, she said food processing was an instrumental tool in combating glut and controlling inflation, thereby maintaining equilibrium in food economy.

The women associated with the Nanhi Chhan Punjab Public Charitable Trust were distributed these insurance policies as well as saplings of kachnar, neem, brahma dek, sukhchian and jamun.

Later, at the Government Girls Senior Secondary, Mall Road, the minister distributed 135 cycles among the girl students under the Mai Bhago Scheme. She added that the emphasis of scheme was to ensure that no girl left studies due to distance of school from her home.

Prominent among others present at the event included Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla, OSD to deputy CM Mohnish Kumar and Harinder Singh Sra, Deputy Commissioner Bathinda Dr Basant Garg, SSP Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti, Mayor Balwant Rai Nath, assistant media adviser to deputy CM Harjinder Singh Sidhu, SAD press secretary Om Prakash Sharma.