The Haryana government has decided to stop the procurement of wheat in all mandis/procurement centres in view of the lockdown in the state from May 3-9 to check exponential surge in Covid-19 cases. “During lockdown, no procurement of wheat will be initiated in any mandis/procurement centres of the state and no gate pass shall be issued (to the farmers) for the same, an official statement said here on Sunday.
It said the government has appealed all farmers to stay at home and not to step out unless very necessary. Amid a sharp surge in coronavirus cases, the Haryana government on Sunday announced imposition of a week-long lockdown in the entire state beginning May 3. Earlier, a weekend curfew was enforced in nine districts — Gurugram, Faridabad, Panchkula, Sonipat, Rohtak, Karnal, Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad — from 10 pm on Friday till 5 am on Monday.
The statement said that till May 2, 83.53 lakh tonnes of wheat has arrived in the mandis of the State, out of which 80.51 LMT has been procured. So far, an amount of Rs 9,270 crore has been transferred directly to the accounts of farmers whose crop has been procured, it said.
