With only a few days left to start paddy procurement amid Covid-19, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ludhiana Varinder Kumar Sharma on Monday, held meeting with officials to review the preparations for ensuring hassle-free, smooth and timely procurement of paddy crop. The meeting was also attended by office-bearers of district commission agents association, rice shelling mills and commission agents besides DMs of procurement agencies and farmers were also present.Deputy Commissioner, while, soliciting the support urged rice shelling mills to provide their spaces for Mandi yards so that maximum number of purchase centres can be set up in the district to ensure smooth and timely procurement of the crop.He said that to maintain social distancing and avoid the spread of coronavirus, a similar concept of wheat procurement will be adopted in which the procurement will be made in a staggered manner as farmers will enter the Mandis with passes issued to them.
While ensuring procurement of every single grain of paddy, Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma appealed farmers and commission agents to cooperate with the district administration in this exceptional and difficult times. He also appealed farmers to bring paddy crop with prescribed moisture content to the grain markets for timely procurement.District Food Supplies Controller (DFSC West) Sukhwinder Singh Gill and DFSC East Harveen Kaur informed Deputy Commissioner that apart from 107 grain markets (mandis) in the district, 76 Rice Shelling Mills and 27 temporary yards have been designated as procurement stations while they are trying to establish more purchase centres in the district.Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner also directed District Mandi Officer (DMO) Devinder Singh to ensure all the necessary arrangements at grain markets for hassle-free procurement besides maintaining hygiene and social distancing.