DEHRADUN: In a step to boycott Chinese products, rice millers of Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand have cancelled the purchase order of Chinese rice sorting machines in favor of Japanese ones amidst the ongoing Indo-China standoff.
The US Nagar district has around 257 rice mills. Out of the total 257 mills, 174 have already installed the rice sorting machines.
Rajesh Bansal, a rice Miller from Rudrapur town of the district said, "Chinese machines have been more in demand due to their low prices in comparison to the Japanese variants. But now, after the Galwan Valley clashes in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred, we decided to not use the Chinese machines and chose the Japanese ones over those."
This is despite difference of Rs 5 lakh between the Chinese and the Japanese one. The Chinese machines cost about Rs 18 lakh while the Japanese ones cost about Rs 23 lakh.
These machines are used for sorting out fine grains from the discoloured and broken ones before packaging.
Over 100 rice millers from the district have cancelled their order of the Chinese machines following the clash and the call for boycott of Chinese products.
The district is also known as 'Chawal ki Nagari' (Ricebowl) of the state. The crop requires standing water in the fields for its growth, and a high water table and bright sunshine during the zaid (March- June) and kharif (June –October) cycle of crops makes the area fit for the rice production.
Grown in two seasons, the productivity of summer rice remains higher than the kharif rice.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical industry owners in Uttarakhand claimed that prices of raw material for production of medicines have increased by up to 30 per cent, which could result in costlier medicines.
At present, there are over 100 pharmaceutical manufacturers operating from State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) areas in Haridwar and Rudrapur.
Most of the raw material for the pharmaceutical industry is imported from China because of the lower cost than locally available salts, say industrialists.