Chandigarh, Sept. 14 -- Frequent and prolonged power cuts have forced Punjab rice millers to shut down their milling operations. Consequently, millers have announced they cannot purchase basmati stocks just as the 1509 variety has started arriving in the mandis.

The millers are demanding an uninterrupted power supply to keep their operations running. Out of the state's 5,500 rice mills, a small section receives category I supply, while the majority fall under categories II and III, which have been severely affected by power cuts.

"The cuts last as long as 15 hours a day. The situation has been acute for the past 15 days, and because our industry runs round-the-clock operations, we are bearing heavy losses," said Bharat Bhushan Binta, pr...