Chandigarh: Government agencies and private millers in Punjab procured more than 86.65 lakh tonne paddy till last evening, as against 79.23 lakh tonne procured on the same day last year.
Of the total paddy procurement so far, government agencies have lifted 83.24 lakh tonne-96.1 per cent-and private traders have taken 3, 40,582 tonne-3.9 per cent, an official spokesman said here today. He said Punjgrain had procured 23.66 lakh tonne, followed by Punsup - 20.85 lakh tonne, Markfed - 18.78 lakh tonne, PSWC - 10.05 lakh tonne. The central government agency FCI has been able to lift 1, 44,386 (1.7 per cent) tonne.
Ludhiana, with 8.92 lakh tonne of paddy procurement, was leading the list. Patiala, with 8.91 lakh tonne, was at the second spot and Sangrur, with 07.28 lakh tonne, ranked third, he added.
The state government has set up 1,745 procurement centres and has activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of paddy, the spokesman added.