Chandigarh, April 11 (IANS) As the wheat arrivals surge across agrarian state Punjab, the total purchase of wheat has created a record in five years, officials said on Monday.
Government agencies have procured 4.3 lakh metric tons of wheat till April 10, against the earlier highest peak of 38,019 metric tons in 2018.
An official told IANS this year the government has ensured that minimum support price (MSP) payments of Rs 138 crore transferred directly into bank accounts of farmers, whereas the earlier high was Rs 6.5 crore in year 2017.
Terming the record-breaking figures a result of the good arrangements, he said the state government was committed to welfare of the farmers and would continue to take all possible steps to facilitate them.
The Central government has fixed the minimum support price of wheat at Rs 2,015 per quintal.
The government aims to purchase 132 lakh tonnes of wheat this season. The procurement of wheat, which began on April 1, will continue till May 31.
The Muslim side, on the last day of hearing in the Ayodhya title dispute on Wednesday, refuted the Hindu side's claim that the observation of a District Judge in 1886 was in their favour.
"Out of the 400 odd items that the industry makes, only one item - a single sound cracker - has been approved by PESO till date as the 'green' cracker for manufacture," the fire cracker maker, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IANS.
Intense back channel exercise by Indian side is underway to arrange a meeting of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani coounterpart Imran Khan, a Pakistan media report claimed on Tuesday.
