Efforts to persuade rice millers to start paddy milling in Punjab intensified
22-Oct-2024 04:03 PM
Chandigarh. Farmers are extremely worried and troubled due to the slow pace of government procurement and the slow lifting of paddy purchased from the mandis amid the increasing arrival of paddy in the Mandis of Punjab.
They are protesting at 51 places in the state, which include 25 toll plazas and 26 residences of politicians. In fact, rice millers / shellers have decided not to receive allocation of paddy from the government and to keep its milling closed until some of their demands are accepted.
In view of this, the Punjab government has started efforts to persuade rice millers to start paddy milling through inducements and incentives.
The Punjab government has decided to give many reliefs and concessions to rice millers, due to which a total of 2000 rice millers of the state have signed the agreement for paddy milling, but most of the remaining 3500 millers are still not ready to mill PR-126 and hybrid paddy varieties.
According to official sources, the pace of lifting of paddy has increased with the consent of 2000 millers. 1.15 lakh ton paddy was lifted from various mandis on the previous day, but still 22.40 lakh ton paddy stock is lying at the purchase centers, which is yet to be lifted.
According to the available data, in the current marketing season, till October 21, 30.88 lakh ton paddy arrived in the mandis of Punjab, out of which 27.68 lakh ton was purchased.
Out of this, only 5.28 lakh ton paddy could be lifted, which is only 17 percent of the total arrival. The problem is mainly seen in those mandis where farmers are unloading more stock of PR-126 and hybrid varieties of paddy.
45 shellers located in the areas around Khanna Mandi have started lifting paddy and 51 percent of the total supply of paddy in the mandi has also been lifted.
A farmer organization is protesting outside the toll plaza and the houses of three BJP leaders, including the Minister of State for Railways. Apart from this, protests are also going on outside the houses of 23 Aam Aadmi Party leaders.