815 MT wheat arrives in 78 dist mandis, 404 MT procured

As much as 815 MT of wheat arrival has been recorded in Jalandhar mandis. There are 78 mandis in the district, 404 MT of purchase has been noted till now. In some mandis, no arrival has been noted yet.

Tarsem Singh from Uggi village said it would take a week for him to harvest the crop. “There are some farmers in my village who have already cut their crop. Until now, the yield seems good, the actual position will be clear in the coming days," he said. The arrival of wheat will pick up in the next few days.

Kartarpur MLA Balkar Singh and Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal kick-started the procurement of wheat at Grain Market, Kartarpur, wherein they directed officials to ensure smooth procurement operations with an aim to facilitating farmers, bringing their produce in mandis.

The MLA and DC said this year 5.25 lakh metric tonne wheat was expected to arrive across all purchase centres in the districts and elaborate arrangements have already been put in place to procure every single grain. They also said over 29 temporary sheds have also been set up in the district in view of the bumper wheat production.

They added that arrangements like the availability of potable water, cleanliness, shades, tarpaulins, bardana, besides others, were already made by officials. Stressing on lifting and payment to farmers, they directed the officials that no stone be left unturned to make timely payments to farmers as per government’s guidelines.

“There is no dearth of bardana in mandis which will lead towards a hassle-free season for farmers", they said. They said the entire procurement operation would be accomplished smoothly as any kind of negligence would be dealt with strictly.

Meanwhile, the MLA and DC also interacted with some farmers and took their feedback about the arrangements.

District Food and Civil Supplies Controller Narinder Singh said all labour and transport contracts are already in place and the lifting will be carried out within stipulated time. The government has fixed MSP for wheat at Rs 2,425 per qtl.

Meanwhile, farmer Jaswinder Singh from Bulle village, who has brought around 30 qtl of wheat crop in Kartarpur Mandi expressed satisfaction over the procurement arrangements. He said his produce was immediately procured by agencies.

Jalandhar