Amid ‘slow’ wheat procurement, Mohali mandis face rain threat
Mohali: With the high influx of foodgrain into the mandis (grain markets) of Mohali, the farmer commission agents – arhtiyas – are now worried that rain might spoil the grain if it is not lifted fast. Hitting out against the government for not procuring the grain in a timely manner, they said they are worried about losses ahead of forecast of rain in the city on Tuesday. The administration, meanwhile, maintained they had enough tarpaulins to protect the produce.
A commission agent at Kharar mandi, Narinder Sharma rues that the government is yet to lift the grain from the mandi. Sharma said, “We are predicting rains for three days, but still we have tonnes of grain lying on the floor of the mandi. We fear that if it is not lifted, we may suffer losses due to rains.”
He added that there was no imposition of value cut, and claimed that they were being paid below the minimum support price (MSP).
Meanwhile, Mohali deputy commissioner Aashika Jain said, “We have sufficient tarpaulin sheets and other arrangements to save the grain from rain. We have reviewed the stocks with the agencies concerned and solved various problems, including lifting in Kharar grain market.”
The DC added that the Punjab government has made adequate arrangements for the purchase of wheat brought by the farmers in the mandis of the district.
Besides, so far, 52,101 MT (million tone) wheat grain has been sold in the markets across Mohali, the additional deputy commissioner (urban development)
Damanjit Singh Mann informed. He added that 51,687 MT of the total wheat has been procured by procurement agencies, and said the farmers were being paid for the same on time.
Mann also said that various arrangements have been made for the farmers, including clean drinking water and shady places to sit. He also appealed the farmers to dry the crop well before bringing it to the market, so the crops don’t pile up in the market.
Besides, Punjab food minister Lal Chand Kataruchak informed that payments of more than Rs 3,014 crore have been released directly into the bank accounts of nearly 1,05,574 farmers till date.
This is much beyond the Rs 2,700 crore due for purchases made until 48 hours earlier, the minister said, adding that these figures clearly proved that payments were being released within 24 hours of the purchase.
