The Madhya Pradesh government has denied reports of damage to procured wheat in the untimely rain which began on June 3, claiming just 0.13% of the stocks had got drenched.
Contrary to reports of stocks being swept away in the rain induced by cyclone Nisarga across western and central districts, an official of the State Public Relations Department said, “This caused no loss to farmers. In districts where stocks got drenched due to untimely rain, they are being dried and will be stored after that.”
The official said in view of the likelihood of rain, procurement committees had been directed to make arrangements for tarpaulins and drainage to save stocks from getting drenched.
Of the 1.26 crore MT wheat procured, 1.15 crore MT (91%) had already been moved to warehouses, said the officials. “The transport of the remaining 11.17 lakh MT of wheat is being undertaken at a rapid pace,” he said.
Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath has accused the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of not acting in time to prevent the damage. “This has resulted in the large-scale damage to wheat and losses running into crores of rupees,” he said.
