Punjab: Ludhiana Administration deputes GOGs in grain markets for hassle-free procurement

In a bid to ensure seamless procurement of wheat in Punjab besides timely lifting and payments and strict adherence to COVID protocols in the grain markets, the district administration has deputed Guardians of Governance (GoGs) to oversee the entire operations in Ludhiana.

On the directions of Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma, almost every grain market or purchase centre had a team of GOG to support the Mandi board and procurement agencies along with farmers and others so that the season completed without any kind of trouble.

It is pertinent to mention here that the district had around 400 GOGs and they were visiting the grain markets as per the prepared schedule and giving feedback to the administration about arrangements.

Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana said that to ensure the obeying of all medical protocols including social distancing, mask-wearing by farmers and labourers, availability of water, soaps and others in grain markets was a herculean task and GOGs were making strenuous efforts towards complying with all these guidelines of the health department. He said that GOGs were playing a vital role in entire procurement operations. 

He said that there was not a single case of COVID-19 reported from grain markets till today and hoped the season remains free of the COVID-19.

He said that considering the prevailing situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration had already made 124 additional purchase centres in the district along with the existing 108 to minimize the crowd in the grain markets.
GOG District Head Col (Retd) HS Kahlon said GOGs would continue to help the administration in future also. He said that duties have been assigned to the teams and GOGs working round the clock to complete the operations smoothly with the availability of basic amenities and requisite arrangement.