Amritsar, October 14
Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Lal Chand Kataruchak visited the grain markets of Rayya and Jandiala Guru to take stock of arrangements made in Amritsar district for the purchase of paddy crop.
Speaking on the occasion, Lal Chand Kataruchak expressed satisfaction over the procurement arrangements and said each grain of farmers’ crop would be procured and farmers would not face any problem in markets.
He said so far 18.5 MT paddy had arrived in the markets, out of which 17.5 MT had been purchased and 7.5 MT lifted. He said 1,943 crore had been transferred into farmers’ bank accounts as payment for the purchased paddy, which is being done only hours after the purchase.
He appealed to the farmers to harvest the mature paddy crop only so that the amount of moisture was not high and the procurement agencies could buy it without any delay.
Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said the state government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had made proper arrangements to buy farmers’ crops and this was happening for the first time in the state that the payment of the crop was being transferred in bank accounts within a few hours of the purchase.
He said they were visiting the mandis across the state and taking stock of the procurement arrangements and Amritsar was the 19th district where he visited the mandis and checked procurement arrangements and interacted with farmers and arhtiyas.
Expressing his satisfaction over the procurement arrangements in the Rayya grain market, he said all the sections involved in the procurement process, including farmers, labourers and transporters, were happy with the arrangements.
On the occasion, District Food Controller (DFC) told the Cabinet Minister that strict instructions were issued to the officials of the departments concerned for the purchase of paddy in the district so that the farmers do not face any difficulty in the markets. For the convenience of the farmers in the markets, Kisan Seva Kedar, Health Seva Kendra and helpline numbers had been established so that when a farmer came across any problem he could contact the administration.
MLA Dalbir Singh Tong, SDM Alka Kalia, Secretary Marketing Committee, and Baljinder Singh were also present on the occasion.
