Ludhiana on top in wheat procurement, lifting
The biggest district in Punjab, Ludhiana has been on top in wheat procurement and lifting in both the East and West circles, which has been the maximum. With procurement coming to an end in the next three to four days, minimal wheat is lying in a few mandis in both Ludhiana East and West circles, which will be lifted soon.
Talking to The Tribune, Shefali Chopra, District Food Supply Officer (DFSC), Ludhiana East, said that the district has remained on top in procurement and lifting in the last three years. In the year 2023-24, Ludhiana was given the award for ‘Best Procurement’, said the DFSC.
Chopra further added that almost 97 per cent of the wheat was lifted from Ludhiana East circle. “We consider East circle as a district because it has huge areas and mandis. A total of 4,18,310.8 lakh metric tonnes was procured in Ludhiana East while in West circle, 3,94,427.6 lakh metric tonnes was procured till May 12. Around 93-94 per cent has already been lifted from the West circle. We are in the process of winding up now, and in the next two to three days, procurement will come to an end in Ludhiana,” said Chopra, adding though 97.47 was lifted from SAS Nagar, the area and procurement there, as compared to Ludhiana, was much less. Pungrain has lifted 100 per cent wheat from Ludhiana, added the DFSC.
Meanwhile, farmers feel that as compared to paddy, lifting of wheat did not cause much difficulty. They said that at a few mandis, farmers may have faced some issues but on the whole, lifting was satisfying.
Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Mahajan said that the farmers were provided with every facility during the entire procurement process and payments were also made within the stipulated time-frame. “The farmers are by and large satisfied in the district. There can be sporadic incidents of farmers facing some difficulties but everything was resolved on priority basis as most of the staff was in the field during the procurement”, said the DC.
