Shehbaz calls for avoiding corona spread during wheat procurement
PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday warned that the yearly exercise of wheat procurement could result in further spread of coronavirus in Punjab, asking the government to devise new SOPs for the purpose.
In a series of tweets, Shehbaz said the procurement centres could be the new potential hotspots, as the farmers would gather there to collect bardana (gunny bags).
Around this time, massive & important exercise in the form of wheat procurement takes place every year in Punjab. With Punjab leading the corona disease burden in the country, risks of its spread are quite significant. Long queues & gatherings for the collection of Bardana..(1/2)
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 8, 2020
The PML-N president noted that Punjab tops the list with the most number of coronavirus cases and the risks of coronavirus spread were quite significant.
He stressed the need for revisiting the traditional system while devising a new mechanism and communicating the same with farmers in clear terms.
“It is essential that the govt revisits the traditional system of wheat procurement from the farmers, devises new SOPs and communicates it clearly,” Shehbaz said.
Earlier, he had said in another tweet that the government should defer the agri loans of farmers with up to 12 acres of land for one year.
After a meeting with the agriculture experts to discuss the issues faced by farmers, he had also called for addressing the coronavirus threat at wheat procurement centres.
Spoke to agricultural experts on issues faced by farmers community under these circumstances. It is proposed that agri loans of farmers with up to 12 acres of land owed to govt should be deferred for a year + Urgent need to address threat of Corona at wheat procurement centres!
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 7, 2020
He had also noted that wheat harvesting and transporting the produce to markets was the biggest challenge which required immediate preparations.
اس وقت سب سے بڑا چیلنج گندم کی کٹائی اور کھیت سے گودام تک اسے پہچانا ہے
— Shehbaz Digital Media (@ShehbazDigital) April 7, 2020
گندم کی خریداری، امدادی قیمت، کھیت سے گودام تک کا سفرکیسے طے ہوگا، ان پر فوری تیاری کی ضرورت ہے
گندم خریداری کے وقت لوگوں کا ہجوم نہ لگے، ان کی محنت بھی ضائع نہ ہو، اس کی فوری حکمتِ عملی بنانی ہوگی