Delay in paddy procurement irks farmers in Khammam, farmers stage protest in Jangaon

Farmers in Khammam are facing delays in paddy procurement during the Yasangi season, while protests erupted in Jangaon demanding faster purchases. Issues with millers, moisture loss and slow operations at procurement centres are causing concern among farmers.

Khammam/Jangaon: Farmers in Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao’s native district are at a loss in view of the delay in paddy procurement in the Yasangi season.

Though officials claim paddy procurement centres have been set up across the district, purchases are yet to commence on a full scale in Khammam and Kothagudem districts. For instance, purchase centres were set up fifteen days ago in Enkoor mandal, but not a single bag of paddy has been purchased so far as mills have not been allotted to the mandal.

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The same is the situation in many mandals, alleged Telangana Rythu Sangham district secretary Bonthu Rambabu. The officials claimed that over 200 procurement centres were opened in the district, but paddy purchase has started in only 10 to 20 centres.

According to him, millers are not showing interest in paddy purchases for reasons unknown. In addition, millers are deducting five to ten kilograms of paddy per bag towards wastage, causing financial loss to farmers.

A farmer, Ch Kishore of Enkoor, complained that due to drying in the hot summer for a longer period, paddy is losing excessive moisture. Though the prescribed moisture content is 18 per cent, moisture content in paddy has now reached 11 per cent and would cause loss to farmers, he said.

According to officials, while 308 centres are proposed for the procurement of 3,75,000 metric tonnes of paddy, 240 centres have been opened and 45 lakh gunny bags are available in Khammam district. In Kothagudem, 168 centres are being established and about 1,87,309 metric tonnes of paddy yield is estimated.

Meanwhile, farmers in Jangaon district staged a rasta-roko on the Jangaon-Husnabad main road on Wednesday demanding that paddy purchases be sped up. Rythu Bandhu Samithi former district president Irri Ramana Reddy alleged that since the Congress party came to power, it has been consistently pursuing anti-farmer policies.

Paddy is piling up in heaps at the procurement centres that were launched with great fanfare. If the government fails to address the problem, the farmers would lay siege to the Jangaon district collectorate, he warned.