New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) Punjab and Chhattisgarh topped among states as the Centre procured 741.62 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2021-22, up to March 27, government data showed on Monday.
Stating that the paddy procurement is progressing smoothly in KMS 2021-22 at minimum support price (MSP) from farmers, officials said that paddy procurement has been done from Chandigarh, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tripura, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Pudducherry, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
About 105.14 lakh farmers have been benefited with an MSP value of Rs 1,45,358.13 crore, government data showed.
Apart from Punjab (1,87,28,335 MT) and Chhattisgarh (92,01,000 MT), the other top paddy procurement states included Telangana (70,22,000 MT), Uttar Pradesh (65,53,029 MT) Odisha (57,16,134), Haryana (55,30,596), Madhya Pradesh (45,82,610), and Bihar (44,90,319 MT).
Chhattisgarh, with 21,05,972, topped the list of states of farmer beneficiaries from whom purchases were done under MSP followed by Odisha (12,90,846), Telangana (10,62,428), Uttar Pradesh (9,47,326), Punjab (9,33,263), Madhya Pradesh (6,61,756), West Bengal (6,43,401), Bihar (6,42,225), Maharashtra (4,74,855), and Tamil Nadu (4,09,088).
In a statement, Randhawa, who also holds the Home portfolio, said "this illogical decision was absolutely against the spirit of the raising the border guarding forces, which were required to focus on the international border and act as the first line of defence".
The world's largest vaccination drive against Covid-19 is being conducted in India, "and it will be a special occasion to celebrate when we complete administering 100 crore doses of vaccines", said the source.
Bhartiya Kisan Union Tikait district vice president Balkar Singh had already made it clear that, "No political leader will be allowed to share the stage where only Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders will be present."
The incident took place on Tuesday during a demonstration by the BJP in front of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's official residence over the Delhi Disaster Management Authority's (DDMA) order restricting celebration of Chhath Puja in the national capital.
The minister and his son are accused in the October 3 incident in which nine persons, including four farmers, were mowed down by SUVs. The minister's son Ashish Mishra has already been arrested.
It's likely that Sidhu will put forth the list of demands in the Punjab government as he is upset with the appointments in the government. He has resigned from the post of state president, but it has not been accepted yet by Sonia Gandhi. The meeting gains significance as it comes ahead of the CWC meeting.
