Lucknow, January 21: The Chief Minister on Friday took stock of the paddy procurement and said that the procurement centres will function till the entire paddy is procured. Despite the ongoing wave of COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, the government has bought around 55 lakh metric tonnes of paddy so far in the ongoing Kharif marketing season at a minimum support price.

Presiding over a high-level review meeting, the chief minister said, “Paddy purchase worth Rs 10192.90 crore has benefitted more than 8.68 lakh farmers across the state which is a record. The needs of farmers should be taken care of at the paddy purchasing centers. Arrangements should also be made for bonfires etc. to protect the farmers from cold. Paddy should be procured from every eligible farmer who comes to the purchasing center without any delay in payment.” Dragon Fruit Festival in UP: Yogi Adityanath Intends To Hold Special Event Focusing on Health Benefits and Medicinal Value of Dragon Fruit.

As per the reports given by the departments, state government agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured more than 87000 MT of paddy in the last 24-hours.

In Spite of the tough situation arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has procured paddy worth Rs 10192.90 crore from 868232 farmers at MSP, informed Sorabh Babu, commissioner, food and civil supplies. Of the total paddy purchased, about 81 percent of the payment is already transferred amounting to Rs 8289.56 crore. The balance payment of Rs 1903.34 crore will be transferred within 72 hours, he added.

Amid the rising cases of coronavirus, the arrangements regarding masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene, sanitisation, and others are taken care of. To prevent the farmers from getting infected with the coronavirus, the Covid desk has been set up at every centre.

Arrangements have been made to ensure farmers are not harassed by middlemen. Strict monitoring is also being done to make the process smooth.  A total of 4621 procurement centres had been set up across the state to facilitate a direct purchase from farmers against last year’s 4304 centres in 73districts.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 21, 2022 03:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).