Kataruchak reviews paddy procurement in mandi

Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, October 10

The state government is committed to procure the paddy crop in a hassle-free manner from the mandis across the state, said Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak at Garhshankar (Saila Khurd) mandi today. Reviewing the procurement arrangements along with Deputy Speaker Jai Krishan Singh Rouri, he said to make the procurement operation uninterrupted, 1,854 mandis had been set up in the state and simultaneous lifting arrangements have been done. He said as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, no farmer would be let to spend a single night in mandi to sell paddy crop.

“So far 9.77 lakh MT of paddy has arrived in the grain markets of Punjab, out of which 9.17 lakh MT has been purchased. Besides making a payment of Rs 1,052 crore to the accounts of farmers,” he added.

Kataruchak further said the government had arranged a CCL of over Rs 37,000 crore to make the same day payment. Besides, there is adequate stock of gunny bags in the mandis. He added that during the previous regimes, farmers had to spend endless nights in grain markets to sell their crops even during festival season like Diwali and Dussehra, but the Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government has strictly asked the officials that farmers will not be allowed to spend nights in grain markets.

He said duties of officials and employees of the departments concerned had been assigned to check moisture content of the crops coming for selling in the markets.

The minister said the government had also installed inter-state nakas to prevent the crop coming from outside states to be sold in Punjab. He appealed to farmers of the state that the crop should be brought to the grain markets after being completely dried. Similarly, disposal of paddy stubble should be done without setting on fire with the help of crop residue management machines.

Garhshankar Sub-Divisional Magistrate Preet Inder Singh Bains, DFSC Madhu, DMO Sahil Kailay, and officials of various departments were present on the occasion.

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