Discolouration of wheat: Central team visits Patiala grain markets on Day 1

A four-member team led by Dori Lal, assistant regional director of the Union food and public distribution department’s quality control cell, is on a visit to Punjab after CM Captain Amarinder Singh took up the issue of the Food Corporation of India’s refusal to purchase shrivelled wheat

A four-member team of the Union department of food and public distribution on Wednesday visited several grain markets in Patiala district as part of their two-day visit to Punjab over problem of discolouration and shrivelling of wheat grain due to inclement weather.

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The team led by Dori Lal, assistant regional director of the department’s quality control cell, is on a visit to Punjab after chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh took up the issue of the Food Corporation of India (FCI)’s refusal to purchase shrivelled wheat, which got damaged due to rain and hailstorm.

The state has 35 lakh hectare of area under wheat cultivation. The total wheat arrival is expected to surpass the targeted 135 lakh tones this season.

Dori Lal said they will submit the report to the Union ministry so that the required relaxations could be given to farmers and procurement agencies at the time of purchase of wheat yield.

“For this, we have collected samples of grain from different mandis,” he said.

On Thursday, the team will visit grain markets Mohali district besides holding a meeting with state government officials in Chandigarh.