THE MOHALI administration on Monday, after a spell of very heavy rain lashed the district on Saturday night, claimed that they were putting in all efforts to ensure smooth procurement of paddy at all centres under its jurisdiction. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Mohali, Isha Kalia, said that the waterlogging at five procurement centres of Kharar had already been cleared and arrangements were being made at the other centers too. Assuring farmers of fair compensation for the losses caused due to their standing paddy crop being damaged by the untimely heavy downpour, Kalia said that the administration had made proper arrangements for procurement across the district. She claimed that most of the procurement centres were functioning normally in the district, with problems due to rain waterlogging being reported from a handful of such centres located in secluded places. Urging farmers to bring dry paddy in the procurement centers, the DC said that the last downpour would increase the moisture content in the paddy but the farmers should bring their crop to the mandis only after drying it properly so that they do not face any issues in selling the same. She said that all Mohali mandis had been well equipped with tarpaulins and bardanas (Gunny Bags) and the administration has ensured that farmers do not face any difficulty in selling the crop.
