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.
Member of Parliament and outgoing Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to protest the demolition of centuries-old Guru Nanak Palace in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat remarks in Udaipur implying a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya has brought up the issue in the public eye yet again, though the dispute is pending in the Supreme Court.
Bhagwat made the comments during his visit to Udaipur on Sunday for a "mandir pran pratishtha" programme in Pratap Gaurav Kendra, where he was accompanied by spiritual leader Morari Bapu.
From former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination to Harshad Mehta's stock scam, an upcoming multi-season web series titled "Case Files" will revisit the investigation of such cases of national interest.
