BAHAWALPUR: The wheat procurement campaign is going to be launched at the 72 procurement centres to benefit particularly small land holders with effect from April 22 (today) in Bahawalpur division.

Dawn learnt that the focus of the Punjab government this time was the small wheat growers with a land holding of up to only six acres, keeping the procurement open till the purchase of the last grain.

Talking to Dawn, Deputy Director Food Bahawalpur Adnan Badar said the farmers after collection of their gunny bags quota with their eligibility declared through an app launched by Punjab would reach the procurement centres for selling their produce where they would be made payments on the spot without any hindrance by the food department staff deployed there round the clock.

He said with the completion of the first phase to collect bardana by the farmers with six acres of land ownership, the second phase for these small growers would also be opened to register their demand through the app for the purchase of gunny bag quota.

Mr Badar said the food department would purchase about 400,000 metric tonnes of wheat at the government’s fixed support price of Rs3,900 per 40kg instead of the last year’s fixed target of 800,000 metric tonnes from the Bahawalpur division.

He claimed that wheat from all the farmers having six acre land would be purchased by the food department.

Adnan Babar said the procurement drive would continue till completion of the purchase of wheat from all these small cultivators. He added that deployed staff at procurement centres had been directed to provide all basic facilities of seating and cold drinking water to the visiting farmers; otherwise, disciplinary action would be taken against them.

Meanwhile, Bahawalpur District Food Controller Khadim Hussain Faraz said arrangements to procure wheat at the district’s 29 main centres in addition to 16 flag centres had been made to facilitate the small growers having gunny bags quota.

He said the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (Passco) Ltd would separately procure wheat from farmers.

KILLED: A motorcyclist was killed under mysterious circumstances by unidentified armed men near Chak 88/DB in the limits of Yazman Police Station. The victim was identified as Shoaib (45).

According to Rescue 1122 and police officials reached the crime scene to complete the legal formalities and they shifted the body to the tehsil headquarters hospital for a post-mortem.

ROOF COLLAPSE: A 60-year-old woman and her grandson died in a roof collapse of their house in Mural town near Basti Malook of Lodhran on Sunday.

The boy was identified as 14-year-old Arsalan. The woman could not be identified. The roof was in dilapidated condition due to the recent rains.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2024