Wheat procurement picks up pace, 90,771 MT arrives in dist mandis

Wheat procurement is picking up pace in the district and till now, 90,771 metric tonnes of wheat has arrived in the district and 64,608 metric tonnes has been procured so far.

The grain market located at Jalandhar Bypass is slowly buzzing with activity with the arrival of wheat. The process of loading, unloading and cleaning of wheat was on.

One of the major demands of the farmers visiting the grain market was requirement of night shelters.

“Many times produce kept lying in the grain market before it is being sold. Either farmers or their workers stay at night there to take care of the same. Left with no other option, they have to sleep in the open. Proper waiting rooms or night shelters should be built for the convenience of the growers,” said Jagar Singh, a farmer.

Farmers rue that due to lack of staying arrangements for them, they are forced to sleep close to their paddy stocks in open areas. They have urged the government to make small shelters to protect them from harsh weather during their stay at markets.

Another farmer Balwinder Singh from Lalton Kalan village said, “Now the wheat arrival is picking up pace and in coming days, the space will be filled. We have to sleep near our produce during night as stray cattle and dogs roam around freely in the area. The government should improve facilities at grain markets,” he said.

Farmers also demanded facility of drinking water and washrooms at the markets.

“There should be proper facility of washrooms and clean drinking water. Making arrangement of drinking water on our own sometimes become a tedious task,” said another farmer.

Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain on Thursday called for speedy wheat lifting from Ludhiana’s grain markets to ensure seamless operations during the ongoing Rabi season.

Reviewing the wheat procurement process, he noted that the procurement was progressing smoothly across all mandis but stressed the urgency of expediting the lifting process to avoid delays.

He directed procurement agencies to clear procured wheat stocks from the mandis within the stipulated time, deploying all necessary resources to streamline the process.

The Deputy Commissioner said 70 per cent of the wheat arrived in the mandis had already procured and payments of Rs 45 crore disbursed to farmers.

Additionally, Jain instructed district heads of procurement agencies to conduct daily visits to the mandis to monitor operations closely and address any issues on the ground.

Ludhiana