Maha govt to sell tur at lower prices

Mumbai: In the wake of the tur crisis in Maharashtra, the state government has cleared a proposal on the sale of pulses procured in 2016-17. The state cabinet cleared the proposal on Tuesday under the market intervention scheme. The state marketing department was under pressure to tackle the tur crisis. The state is expected to see production of 9.83 lakh quintal of tur this year, although the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) stopped procurement of tur in the state from May 15.

The crisis put even more pressure on the state government to procure tur from farmers. The state government procured a bumper turin 2016-17. It was said that almost 10 lakh quintal tur was procured last year and Maharashtra produced the highest ever tur that year. So, the state’s godowns were already full with tur. Hence, the state marketing department was facing a problem in procuring newtur.

To find a way out of this, the state government has now decided to sell the tur. Subhash Deshmukh, state marketing minister said, “Now, the state’s ration shops will sell tur at Rs 35 per kg. Earlier, the rate was '55. But, the state government has decided to sell tur to the people at lower rates. This will also help us clear godowns, so that we can procure new tur from farmers.”