Nitin Jain
Ludhiana, July 18
As the procurement process draws near to conclusion, the purchase of moong, one of the main pulses grown during the Kharif season, has reached its peak with Ludhiana district maintaining its undisputed lead by logging over two-thirds of the total purchase done in the state so far, the government has confirmed.
Jagraon, the main centre of moong purchase in Punjab, which falls under Ludhiana, has procured 17,708 metric tonnes (MT) of moong till Monday, which was over 69 per cent of the total 25,618.24 MT of pulse purchased in the entire state till Saturday, the state’s nodal agency Markfed officials have revealed.
‘Committed to purchasing every grain’
The procurement of moong will conclude in the state on July 31 and the first-ever government purchase through Markfed has revived the market, benefitting the farmers at large. We are committed to procure each and every grain of the pulse arrived in the grain markets. —Ramvir, Managing Director, MARKFED
Sharing details, the Markfed Managing Director, Ramvir, who was supervising the state operations, told The Tribune, on Monday that 25,618.24 MT of moong was purchased across the state till date, of which 22,487.09 MT was purchased by the private agencies while 3,131.15 MT was bought by Markfed at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 7,275 per quintal, benefitting 9,029 farmers from 453 villages across the state.
“With 17,708 MT of procurement, Ludhiana district has excelled in the state this season as well,” he said.
Sharing district figures, the Deputy Commissioner, Surabhi Malik, who was monitoring the moong procurement in Jagraon on a daily basis, disclosed that 17,708 MT of pulse was purchased till this evening, of which 17,307 MT was procured by the private agencies while 401 MT was bought by Markfed.
She said the government purchase included 287.35 MT under the price support scheme (PSS) and 113.65 MT for the state pool.
Jagraon SDM, Vikas Hira, who was reviewing the procurement process in the grain market, informed that over 94 per cent of the purchased moong has already been lifted from the mandi yards while the process was on to clear the remaining less than 6 per cent of the procured pulse as well.
He revealed that 3 farmers sold their produce on Monday, taking the total number of benefitted peasants to 4,366 from 89 villages across the district.
Among other districts, Amritsar procured 1,241.2 MT of moong, Bathinda 850 MT, Barnala 1,477.65 MT, Faridkot 144.1 MT, Fazilka 86.45 MT, Ferozepur 268.35 MT, Gurdaspur 29.45 MT, Mansa 1,978.5 MT, Moga 840 MT, Mohali 26.75 MT, Muktsar 27.48 MT, Patiala 61.9 MT, Ropar 7.2 MT, Sangrur 250.33 MT, Malerkotla 85.08 MT, and Tarn Taran purchased 535.8 MT pulse under private and government purchase till Saturday evening.
