Ludhiana, April 11 -- Wheat procurement in Ludhiana has got off to a slow start due to recent rainfall, with government purchase operations confined to just two of the district's 108 mandis. While the administration had scheduled a full-scale rollout from April 10, only eight mandis-around 10% of the total-have so far reported arrivals, reflecting the delayed pace on the ground. Officials said the Jagraon and Khanna belts were the first to receive fresh arrivals, in line with the usual harvesting pattern, as the Khanna side typically records the earliest inflow of wheat in the district. The recent spell of rain disrupted harvesting in several pockets and delayed the transportation of produce to grain markets, slowing the arrival cycle and holding back procurement operations due to insufficient volumes. District food supplies controller Sartaj Singh Cheema said the administration was prepared to scale up procurement once weather conditions stabilise. "Rainfall has delayed harvesting, which is why procurement has started slowly. The Khanna belt has seen initial arrivals, but the main inflow is expected by April 14 or 15, after which procurement will pick up pace," he said. Farmers and commission agents are now expecting a sharp increase in arrivals from the middle of next week, subject to favourable weather conditions. For the administration, the immediate challenge will be to swiftly ramp up labour deployment, lifting arrangements and agency presence beyond the current two purchase centres once the bulk of the crop starts reaching mandis. The delayed start once again underscores the vulnerability of Punjab's wheat procurement cycle to weather fluctuations, with even brief spells of rain capable of disrupting timelines across key agrarian districts....