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.
Earlier, while addressing a rally in Bihar’s Katihar Lok Sabha constituency, the Punjab minister had slammed the BJP government and claimed that they were running a divisive campaign.
Appealing people to vote for a strong government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said only he can provide a strong government at the Centre and make it a superpower.
Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday went public to slam her party for reinstating a group of Uttar Pradesh leaders who had allegedly misbehaved with her during a recent event at Lucknow.
The announcement was made hours after Sadhvi Pragya joined the BJP and said that she would "fight against those who are conspiring against the nation."
