Tale Of Two States

Chandigarh:

All of us have probably read these famous opening lines:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity….

Yes, Charles Dickens and his Tale of Two Cities. So here is a story many of you might have missed. A Tale of Two States.

First the positive story.

Punjab is governed by a “opposition” party. Their CM vowed not one grain of wheat would be wasted in the Khariff crop. So Punjab and Central Govt worked in tandem to harvest the crop. You probably know Punjab contributes 35% of our wheat.

Migrant labour was missing. To compensate people under MNREGA were mobilised by Centre. Fleets of combined harvesters were mobikised and escorted in convoys from elsewhere to Punjab’s fields. FCI was mobilised. 2000 odd additional mandis were created to reduce crowding and improve social distancing. Centre controlled Paramilitary forces worked with local police to control convoys of thousands of trucks and tractors conveying wheat from fields to mandi/arat and beyond to godowns. Harvesting started on 15 Apr and is continuing. They are actually lighting up the fields at night to allow harvesting on 24×7 basis. The focus was to quickly complete harvesting and disband the workforce to reduce chances of disease spread.

Net result? Last year Punjab harvested 1.3 Million Tonnes (MT) all thru April. Some more in May. This year, from 15-26 Apr i.e. in 9 days only, Punjab has harvested 2.8 MT. Stunning! Not only that, Punjab would have all time high record wheat production this year.

FCI is present at all the mandis and arats, procuring and immediately paying for the wheat as it is coming in. Putting money in the hands of the population, encouraging farmers to harvest even more quickly.

Story doesn’t end there. Punjab Govt is working with FCI and Indian Railways to simultaneously take the grain away from Punjab. Because there is no place to store all that grain in Punjab itself.

So Indian Railways have created special Annapoorna Trains. Each train is an amazing 2.4 km long, comprising 84 wagons with multiple engines and radio communication between driver and guard. Best of Ind Rail drivers and guards from the Shatbadis and Rajdhanis are operating the Annapoornas. These trains are taking all the wheat away from Punjab to FCI godowns around the country.

In April last year IR transported some 2 MT of food grains. This April they have already crossed 4 MT and April isn’t over yet.

All of the above is being managed by special teams comprising DMs + SPs + Para Military + IR + FCI under the overall supervision of MHA. Brilliant example of amazing achievement if State + Centre works together.

But this is a Tale of Two States.

See what’s happening at WB. The only topic that all 4 Bangla news channels have been covering for last 7 days is State vs Centre fights. CM’s 3 page letter, followed by Governor’s 5 page letter, followed by CM’s 7 page letter, followed by Governor’s 11 page letter. Whether Constitution is being upheld etc etc. Utter Bullshit.

Do you find any news of how and when the Khariff crops in Bengal would be harvested? Any news of the Khariff potato, onion, rice and mustard harvesting? Any news of their sale and procurement? Any report of how to put money in the hands of the farmers? I couldn’t find any. It seems, the entire world has forgotten the Bengal farmers.