Minister reviews procurement at Nawanshahr mandi
Health, Family Welfare, Medical Education and Research Minister Dr Balbir Singh paid a surprise visit to the Nawanshahr Anaj Mandi today and took stock of the procurement and lifting arrangements.
On Friday, Cabinet Minister Mohinder Bhagat had visited the dana mandi in Jalandhar to review procurement. At Kapurthala, DC made visits to the dana mandi at both Kapurthala and Phagwara to review the procurement process, but so far none of the ministers have visited the mandis at Kapurthala.
While talking to journalists at the Nawashahr grain market, Balbir said, “The Punjab Government stands with the farmers and is putting pressure on the Centre so that lifting can be simultaneously done after procurement.”
The Minister said for smooth procurement of paddy, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann himself, along with Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and all ministers and MLAs of the state have reached markets and are helping farmers in all possible ways.
He said, “Arhtiyas, farmers, labourers, shellers, millers and transporters are our backbone, but the Modi government is working to destroy them by being an enemy of the marketing system and the environment of Punjab is being deliberately damaged, so that arhtiyas, sheller owners, farmers and labourers are embattled against each other.”
“But the intelligent people of Punjab fully understand this and will not fall to such tricks,” he added.
He further said the Centre hadn’t picked up the grain lying in sheds and warehouses of Punjab, due to which this situation had arisen in the mandis. He said due to the step-motherly treatment with Punjab, the farmers who reached markets with their crops have faced problems. He said despite this, the Punjab Government had resolved the problem and the work of purchase and lifting in mandis is on at full flow and payment is also being made at the same time.
The Minister said in three to four days, the paddy procurement would be in full swing in mandis. SSP Mehtab Singh; SDM Akshita Gupta; Nawanshahr Constituency In-charge Lalit Mohan Pathak (Ballu); Market Committee Nawanshahr Chairman Gagan Agnihotri; District Food Supply Controller Manjinder Singh; District Mandi Officer Rupinder Minhas, among other officials of procurement agencies, aarhtiyas and and farmers were also present on the occasion.
