Shrivelled grain beyond prescribed limit in mandis

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, April 13

Effects of the erratic weather conditions are starting to show in the harvested crop in Jalandhar. Shriveled grains and a loss of lustre has been noticed in the crop that is arriving in the mandis, said an official from the District Food and Supply Department.

As per the official record, until now, an arrival of 979.5 MT has been recorded out of which 285 MT has been procured. The crop has arrived in 12 mandis and the procurement has started in four of them. There is a target of purchase of 5,32,000-MT crop.

As per the information, Shahkot is the worst affected area. “Samples are being taken and 50 per cent of the crop has suffered damaged,” said an official.

They said the shriveled grain was also more than the prescribed limit of 6 per cent and lustre loss is more than 10 per cent. “There should not be lustre loss. This is problematic,” an official stated. The Tribune had highlighted on Wednesday that there was very little arrival of the crop. Last year, the procurement was started from April 7.

Hartej Singh, a farmer from Uggi village, said he had also suffered a loss. District Food and Civil Supplies Controller Narinder Singh said the FCI teams were taking samples of the crops and analysing the data properly.

While attending the Kisan Mela on Wednesday in Nawanshahr district, MLA Balachaur Santosh Kataria said that the state government was prompt to help the farmers in distress.

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