1.12L bags of paddy arrive in Chandigarh's Sector 39 grain market

Around 1.12 lakh bags of paddy have arrived in the Sector 39 grain market of Chandigarh so far in the past two weeks of procurement, which had started on September 27.

The grain market is catering to the need of farmers residing in a radius of 25-30 km of Chandigarh. Farmers of Ropar and nearby villages have been regularly coming to the grain market for the past many years. Last year, over 7.23 lakh bags of paddy arrived in the grain market here.

Sushil Mittal, president, Grain Market Arhtiyas Association, Chandigarh, said that the arrival was picking up pace.

He said that over 98 per cent paddy had been purchased by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Mittal said that they expected that the arrival of paddy would remain 20 to 25 per cent less this year in comparison to last year.

He further added that the FCI was the only agency which purchased paddy from the grain market, and they were purchasing these on a daily basis.

Rajinder Kumar, secretary, market committee, Chandigarh, said that all arrangements had been made for the farmers coming to the Sector 39 grain market for the sale of paddy. Uninterrupted electricity and water supply has been provided to them.

A farmer said that that they were happy as the government had increased the MSP this year for paddy. This year the MSP has been fixed at Rs 2,389 per quintal, while the MSP was Rs 2,225 per quintal last year.