Unemployment on Rise; Wheat Storage Crisis in Panjab

New data reveals the employment scenario in Panjab has worsened with unemployment rising in the age categories of 15–29 years. In rural Panjab, youth unemployment stood at 22.5%, male unemployment at 19.9%, and female unemployment at 30.7%. For rural and urban combined, male unemployment in Panjab stood at 16.7%, while female unemployment was 28.4%, highlighting a pronounced gender gap. Overall, Panjab's unemployment rate stood at 19.3%, which is higher than the all-India average of 14.3%. Additionally, 743 people have lost their lives in pothole-related accidents across north India, with Panjab emerging as the worst-affected state and recording a staggering 414 deaths between 2020–24. Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that nearly 48% of the 1,556 accidents caused by potholes in the region resulted in fatalities. Gadkari also said that road accidents claimed 1,77,177 lives in 2024. In 2025, the union government spent USD 78M towards maintenance of stretches dotted with potholes. Meanwhile, Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that pollution in Delhi-NCR could not be blamed solely on stubble burning. He said that scientific studies showed that stubble burning contributed no more than 5% to winter pollution, with industry and vehicles being major sources. Furthermore, a serious storage crisis is building up in the Panjab with the harvesting season on the horizon and no space available to store nearly 5 MMT of wheat crop of the 12.5 MMT expected to arrive in grain markets in the coming weeks. Principal Secretary of the Food and Civil Supplies Department Rahul Tewari has also written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann asking him to take up the matter with the union government. He said that if the movement of foodgrains is expedited between 15 Feb and 15 Apr, only then space will be created in the warehouses. CM Mann had earlier raised the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pralhad Joshi (earlier coverage).