JALANDHAR
In a significant development, Jalandhar district has crossed the halfway mark of the fixed target regarding wheat procurement with more than 2.90 MT against the 5.17 lakh MT target during the season despite bad weather conditions for the past few days.
Deputy Commissioner Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal who has been visiting various Mandis in the district to take stock of the procurement process so that farmers and artiyas should not face any difficulty in the whole process, said that as per the instructions passed by the Chief secretary, Punjab during the daily review meetings, administrative officials are making regular tours of Mandis and taking feedback of the stakeholders.
During his visit to the Adampur Mandi of Bahudin, Deputy commissioner had a healthy discussion with farmers / artiyas / labourers, who expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made by the administration for smooth procurement.
Farmers from village Chak Raju Singh hailed the efforts made by the administration as he was able to sell the crop on the same day of arrival besides also getting payment in his account.
Talking about the lifting of procured wheat, the Deputy Commissioner said that “ the district has set the new benchmark in lifting by crossing the 27000 MT for the first time and touching 25000 MT daily from last three days.
Dr. Aggarwal disclosed that procurement agencies have successfully purchased over 2.90 lakh MT of the crop, with payments totalling Rs. 587 crore already disbursed to farmers which becomes 134 % of the payment against the payment made to the farmers within 48 hours of purchase.
Dr. Aggarwal emphasized the meticulous arrangements made by the administration to ensure the smooth conduct of procurement operations at the Mandis.
He reiterated the administration's unwavering commitment to facilitating farmers during this monumental exercise, with all necessary arrangements put in place beforehand.
Regular reviews of wheat procurement are being conducted to pre-empt any challenges that farmers may encounter during the selling process, he added.