Will create 90 LMT storage space by March next year: Kataruchak

15 LMT of rice to be moved from state by October-end

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, Updated At : 07:00 AM Oct 05, 2024 IST

A labourer dries paddy crop at New Grain Market in Jalandhar on Friday. Tribune photo: Sarabjit Singh

The Punjab Government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure creation of storage space in the wake of ongoing paddy procurement season.

Pursuant to the relentless efforts made by the state government, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) would move 15 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of rice from Punjab by October end and the task would be completed with the deployment of 20 freight trains, three containers and several trucks.

Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said till December 31, nearly 40 LMT of rice would be moved out from the state.

He said godowns were being constructed on public-private partnership (PPP). Kataruchak stated that 90 LMT of storage space would be created by March 2025.

The minister added that arhtiyas had started procurement of basmati from today and said the state government was fully sympathetic to their demands.

Exhorting the farmers to desist from blocking rail tracks, the Minister said this would hamper the creation of sufficient storage space for new produce in the godowns.