From News Dispaches LUDHIANA: The Punjab government has tried to restrict the movement wheat from Punjab to other states order to achieve the procurement of 60 lakh tonnes.
It is learnt that the officials of Civil Supplies Department here stopped the arhitias from making from the mandis verbally and no auction of wheat took place in Khanna mandi on Monday.
Gurmeet Singh Gill an arhtia and Managing Director of the Ludhiana Central Cooperative Bank complained that the Department Officials even asked them to give 20 percent levy on the purchase wheat which they refused. It was only yesterday afternoon that wheat stocks were auctioned in Khanna mandi.
The police has also impounded eight truckloads of wheat meant for transportation outside Punjab at Khanna.
When The Tribune correspondent contacted a senior officer of the Civil Supplies Department he denied imposition of restrictions
on the movement of wheat. He said that the traders were permitted to keep a stock of 150 quintals of wheat.
He, however said that they were checking the movement of wheat purchased by underhanded means (do number da mall).
Ludhiana district received 4.91 lakh tonnes of wheat till yesterday and the official agencies have purchased 4.07 lakh tonnes against the total procurement of 3.96 lakh tonnes in the district during the season.
The wheat procurement in the State has crossed 51 lakh tonnes the State government is not sure of the target of 60 lakh tonnes for the food pool because the farmers withheld the wheat stocks.
‘Wheat prices have started shoot up and the same were quoted at Rs 188 to Rs 219 per quintal in market today. The governments are purchasing at the rate of Rs a quintal.
Wheat arrivals have already dwi, in the markets of the state.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 9, 1989
