The Chhattisgarh government on Tuesday commenced procuring paddy from farmers at minimum support price (MSP).
Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection Minister Amarjeet Bhagat officially began the process in village Kumhari in Dharsiwa block in Raipur district with religious rituals.
He welcomed the farmers by applying vermillion on their forehead. Bhagat also conducted a ground breaking ceremony for construction of a foodgrains godown.
With it, the paddy procurement commenced at 2,305 centres in Chhattisgarh. Keeping in view the Covid-19, sanitizer, mask and hand washing facilities were provided in each centre, said an official communication.
Addressing the event, the Minister said the state did not receive the assistance as expected from the Central government. The state government is using the old gunny bags and is also procuring plastic bags.
New platforms have been built at the procurement centres. This Kharif season, 21.29 lakh farmers have registered themselves, up from last year’s 19.55 lakh.
He said around 4.75 lakh bundles of gunny bags were needed and the Central government has sanctioned 1.43 lakh bundles. Of this, 56,000 bundles have been received. The state government is procuring around 70,000 bundles of plastic sacks.
The Kumhari village procurement centre Chairman said 511 farmers from four villages are registered with it and daily 500 quintals of paddy will be bought.