262K MT of paddy lifted, 1.63 mn MT procured: Punjab food minister

Around 2.62 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has been lifted out of total procurement of 16.37 lakh MT so far in state mandis, Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said on Saturday. Amid farmers protesting against "tardy" procurement of the paddy crop, the minister urged the state rice millers to come forward and start their milling operations, asserting that the state government always stands by them. Several farmers' groups have been protesting against the slow procurement of paddy, which led to a glut in mandis. The state rice millers and the commission agents are also supporting the farmers' protest. The state rice millers have complained of space crunch for storing the fresh paddy crop and want the Centre to liquidate the existing wheat and paddy stock to create sufficient space. Rice millers have also expressed concern over the out-turn ratio (post milling yield) of the PR-126 paddy variety, claiming that it will lead to huge losses. They have said that the