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.
With 31.9% Dalits, Punjab has the highest proportion of SCs to its total population. However, their representation in landholdings in the state is far from proportional.
According to the official, Ashraf Sheikh has "confessed" that he killed Khushi Parihar because he suspected her so-called character and "closeness" with some men.
Talking about the resignation of his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said he could not help if the power minister didn’t want to do his job.
