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Punjab

50 trucks loaded with Wheat smuggled from UP caught in Ropar, Bir Devinder seeks probe

PUNJAB NEWS EXPRESS | April 09, 2021 03:30 PM

CHANDIGARH: Former Vidhan Sabha speaker and Senior Vice president of SAD(Democratic) today demanded a probe into large scale smuggling of Wheat from UP to Punjab by influential people.

In a statement issued here he said that he was aghast to learn that 50 truck trailers each having capacity of 40 tonnes were impounded in Ropar. These trucks carried Wheat grains from UP to Punjab in order to rob MSP regime.

Bir Devinder Singh said that there might be many more trucks on the way to Punjab in order to misuse the MSP benefits. Such large scale movement of smuggled wheat from UP and Bihar to Punjab is not possible without the implicit connivance of local Arhtiyas or commission agents and also the committed ‘paid’ patronage of the food and civil supply department of Punjab.

He stated that the Punjab Government should immediately identify such unscrupulous element among the Arhtiyas or commission agents who were instrumental to smuggle paddy from UP and Bihar at a much lower price than MSP and sold the stuff in Punjab where MSP was available. Pnjab Arhatias made false and fake exaggerated entries in their books against the name of the farmers and made staggering 700 Crore profit by deceiving the system and betraying the genuine farmers of the legitimate benefits of MSP.

What tangible action the State Government has taken against those smugglers, is anybody’s guess, but credible sources reveals that they all were soon off the hooks after paying the handsome price to the powers that be .

The State Government must go to the bottom of all such cases to plug large scale smuggling of paddy and wheat in to Punjab in order to abuse the MSP regime. Punjab State must put in place the strict possible punitive measures against such rouge elements beside cancelling the licenses of all such Arhtiyas or commission agents who not only misused the MSP facility but also robbed the robust procurement system of Punjab.

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