Chandigarh, Feb. 27 -- Punjab is staring at a severe foodgrain storage crisis as its godowns are filled to capacity, leaving barely any room to accommodate nearly 75 lakh tonnes of rice produced from last year's paddy procurement.

The state has a total covered storage capacity of 182 lakh tonnes. However, as of February 16, it is already holding 144 lakh tonnes of rice from the previous two seasons and 48 lakh tonnes of wheat. Of the wheat stock, 32 lakh tonnes is stored in covered godowns, while 16 lakh tonnes lies on open plinths - temporary raised platforms under tarpaulin, exposed to weather risks.

This effectively leaves only six lakh tonnes of covered space available for freshly milled rice.

Floods, procurement and rising stocks...