Paddy procurement crosses 6 lakh MT in Kapurthala mandis

Paddy procurement in Kapurthala district has crossed the six lakh metric tonne mark, with the process continuing smoothly across all mandis. Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal said that a total of 622,262.86 metric tonnes of paddy have been procured by various agencies till Thursday, while overall arrivals in 42 mandis of the district reached 622,934.88 metric tonnes.

Providing agency-wise details, Panchal informed that PUNGRAIN leads the procurement with 230,218.60 MT (37%), followed by MARKFED with 178,609.35 MT (29%), PUNSUP with 151,777.25 MT (24%), and the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation with 61,261.91 MT (10%). Private traders have purchased 395.75 MT of paddy so far.

Highlighting the smooth payment process, the Deputy Commissioner said that Rs 1,447.52 crore has already been directly transferred into the bank accounts of farmers against the procured paddy.

To maintain the pace of operations, Panchal directed procurement agencies, officials of the Mandi Board, and the Food and Civil Supplies Department to expedite the lifting process. Out of the total stock purchased, 587,569 MT has already been lifted from mandis—well within the 72-hour lifting window prescribed by the state government.

Appealing to farmers, Panchal urged them to bring paddy with permissible moisture levels to avoid inconvenience or rejection at mandis. He also advised farmers not to burn paddy stubble and instead mix it into the soil to protect the environment and maintain soil fertility.