Chandigarh: Four technical teams of the Union Food Ministry on Saturday started taking samples of the wheat crop in Punjab, which has been hit by unseasonal rains and hailstorms. As many as 54 samples have been collected in the first phase from the wheat stocks in five districts of Punjab today and the central teams will continue the work of reviewing the procurement centres for the next two-three days.
Punjab’s farmers are now banking on these central teams to whom farmers have their problems narrated at many places today. The teams today took 10 samples from Patiala district, 15 from Mohali, eight from Ludhiana, 20 from Sangrur and one sample from Ferozepur.
The central teams have started their tour from procurement centres in Derabassi, Banur, Lalru, Rajpura, Moonak, Khanauri, Sunam, Khanna, Machhiwara and Mamdot.
According to the central government, crops have been damaged in 16 districts of Punjab, but the arrival of wheat has been done only in five districts of the state. As soon as the wheat reaches the mandis of other districts, the existing central teams will collect samples of the crop.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak today said that central teams have filled samples from some mandis today and samples will be collected once the crop arrives from the rest of the centres.
The farmers of these states fear that the Government of India may not cut the government price of procurement in the name of parameters, as has been done in Madhya Pradesh. The farmer parties have also started preparations on the issue of procurement, where there is any problem, the farmer parties can sound the bugle of the struggle.
The Punjab government has requested the Centre to relax the quality norms without any cuts. So far, crops have been affected in 13.60 lakh hectares of land in Punjab, out of which one lakh hectares is 100 per cent damaged.
High moisture crop has started arriving in the procurement centers of Punjab, which is being dried in the mandis. The central norms allow procurement of crops with moisture content up to 12 per cent, but the mandis are currently getting a crop with moisture content of up to 20 per cent. At an early stage, there is a beginning in the mandis to sell wheat to the farmers.