Mandis in most parts in Punjab filled to the brim, silos & godowns remain underutilised
Ruchika M Khanna
Chandigarh, April 25
Punjab’s “problem of plenty” this year is forcing farmers to dump their crop in the open, including places like cremation grounds. With the lifting of grains continuing to be tardy, the procured wheat is lying in mandis, while the state’s own silos and godowns remain underutilised.
85.9 LMT covered space available
- Punjab has a total of 165 lakh million tonnes (LMT) of covered storage space
- Of this, 8.85 LMT is in silos owned by Pungrain, Adani group and FCI
- Rice is stored in 75.95 LMT space, leaving 85.9 LMT of space for this year’s wheat
- On an average of 15,000 MT grains are being transported and stored in silos daily
Till this evening, of the total over 88 lakh metric tonnes of wheat purchased, 55.47 LMT is still lying in the open. The result is that mandis in most parts are filled to the brim and there is no space for getting extra grain. This is when the procurement is at its peak and there is prediction of rain at this week-end.
Of the 165 LMT of covered storage, including 8.85 LMT of silo storage, 85.9 LMT space is available to store this year’s wheat. In Rajpura, commission agent Mahinder Krishan Chand Arora said the wheat procured on April 14 was being lifted, while grains procured thereafter were yet to be lifted.
“There is no space to keep grains now,” he said. Tardy lifting is result of the flawed policy making and lack of coordination between transporters and labour contractors in mandis. Enquiries made by The Tribune reveal that first, the decision of the FCI to take direct delivery of 80 per cent of new wheat from mandis and not to use covered and plinth storage (CAP), led to a glut in mandis.
Though the FCI has now allowed the use of 40 CAP storage points (of a total of 635), the glut in mandis continues. “This is because of an unprecedented daily market arrivals of wheat (an average of 7.50 LMT per day) and the inability of the FCI to move grains in special trains.
Though daily special trains are moving wheat directly from mandis (average of 26 trains per day), they have managed to transport 7 LMT so far. Also, the state government’s Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) seems not to have taken off as many transporters have not been able to instal it. As a result, very few vehicles are available in mandis for transporting grains to the state’s own silos and godowns,” said a senior officer in the state Food and Supply Department. He said the labour shortage in mandis was also adding to problem of lifting grains.
“We are first shifting grains to silos located at Sunam, Ahmedgarh, Malerkotla, Mullechak, Ladhowal, Dagroo, Barnala, Kotkapura, Patiala, Sangrur and Batala. Each day, 8000 metric tonnes of wheat is being stored in these godowns. The 2 LMT capacity silo at Moga is already declared as an open market yard. Farmers are getting average 7,000 MT grains for direct sale and storage there,” the officer said.
“Once silo storages are full, we will utilise the space of FCI owned depots and Central Warehousing Corporation and PEG godowns. If need arises, we can hire private godowns too,” the officer said.
