Raipur diary

Express News Service
Bilaspur best performer in PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Chhattisgarh has received the national award for best implementation of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. Bilaspur district achieved the highest percentage of Aadhaar-seeded beneficiaries and farmers receiving the aid in 2020-21. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar gave away the award to Collector Dr Saransh Mittar. CM Bhupesh Baghel appreciated the district administration for achieving the feat. Under the scheme, an income support of Rs 6,000 per annum is provided to eligible farmer families. As many as 9,310 farmers have been benefitted under the scheme in Bilaspur.

Road Safety World Series cricket T-20 from March 5Cricket fans will be able to witness the legends of the game in action from March 5 this year when the Chhattisgarh capital will host Road Safety World Series Cricket T-20 League at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium. The series, which will go on till March 21, aims to create awareness about road safety. Cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag, Jonty Rhodes, Brett Lee, Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan among others would be in attendance. Teams from England, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and West Indies are participating. Owing to Covid-19 protocols, the Mayfair Lake Resort, where the players are likely to stay, has been declared as a ‘bio-bubble zone’ with restrictions on the entry of people other than the cricketers and permitted guests. 

Balco wins national award for manufacturing Chhattisgarh-based Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco), which produces nearly 15 per cent of the country’s aluminium, won gold medal in the ‘National Awards for Manufacturing Competitiveness (NAMC)’, in recognition of the organisation’s thrust on excellence in strategic cost reduction, value-added product volume, capacity expansion, coal security, leadership and management talent. The company stated that it continues to explore the field of smart technologies to enhance performance in the face of fierce global competition. 

7,606 paddy storage platforms readyThe state has ensured proper storage arrangement for the 93 metric lakh tonne of paddy that has been procured by it recently. As many as 7,606 cemented platforms have been built to minimise crop spoilage and wastage owing to bad weather conditions, rodents and pests. Every year the state witnesses large quantity of stored paddy getting damaged. These platforms were built during the pandemic crisis under the MGNREGA, which created jobs on a large scale. According to officials of food and civil supplies department, each such platform measures 10.6 m length and 7.5 m width as per the requirements and built at the cost of Rs 2 lakh each.

Ejaz KaiserOur correspondent in [email protected]