Punjab procures 93 lakh tons wheat, 25% decline against 2021
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 May, 2022 10:28 AM
Chandigarh, May 3 (IANS) Punjab has procured over 93 lakh tons of wheat in the ongoing rabi marketing season, a decline of 25 per cent compared with 125 lakh tons in 2021, officials said on Tuesday.
With a drastic decline in wheat arrivals, the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has announced timeline to end the wheat procurement.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said the closure of mandis in the state will be done in a phased manner from May 5. The notification in this regard would be issued by the Mandi Board.
The minister said the inclement weather had resulted in shrivelling of grains in most parts of the state.
Following a spurt in global wheat prices, most states have witnessed a drastic drop in government purchase of wheat, but Punjab led the nation in contributing the largest quantity of wheat of more than 93 lakh tons into the central pool, he said.
Regarding the delay in relaxation of norms for shrivelled grains, he said the Centre has decided to send a second set of officials to take samples from the mandis to ascertain the extent of problem of shrivelling of grains.
Hit by the early onset of heatwave, the wheat crop in Punjab was damaged much beyond the six per cent limit specified by the Centre. This led to dropping of the yield by at least four quintals per hectare, say experts.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has slammed the state AAP government for not even approaching the Centre for the compensation to farmers who had suffered a loss of Rs 10,000 per acre due to unseasonal rains in February followed by extremely high temperatures in March.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of the farmers protesting along the borders of the national capital over agricultural issues, have agreed to the draft proposal prepared by the Central government, and is expected make a "major announcement" on Thursday. A meeting is likely to be held on Thursday noon to decide the further strategy of the movement.
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress high command for appointing Ajay Maken as the Chairman of the screening committee for shortlisting candidates for the next Vidhan Sabha elections in Punjab. In a statement here, Amarinder Singh said Maken is the nephew of (late) Lalit Maken, who was one of the main culprits of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the sand mafia in Punjab alone runs illegal business of over Rs 20,000 crore. There are serious allegations of direct involvement of ruling Congress MLAs, their ministers and their close associates, including the Chief Minister himself.
Farmers' agitation on the borders of the national capital is likely to end soon as the Centre on Tuesday gave a written assurance on their demands. After a meeting in the evening, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spear-heading the agitation, said that they will meet again on Wednesday as they have sought some clarifications from the government on its communication.
Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Putin visited New Delhi for the 21st India-Russia annual summit. He extended an invitation to Modi to visit Russia for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit in 2022.
For the third consecutive day, Maharashtra reported cases of Covid-19 variant Omicron, with two more in Mumbai taking the state's tally to 10, health officials said on Monday.
