Farmers allege pilferage of paddy grains at procurement centre in Asifabad

Rauthu Sattaiah, a farmer, alleged that the staffers at the centre were secretly stealing around three kilograms of grains per bag by tampering with the weighing machine.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Farmers staged dharna alleging that two to three kilograms of paddy grains were being pilfered from a bag of paddy containing 40 kilograms at a paddy procurement centre Oddugudem village in Dahegaon mandal on Tuesday.

Rauthu Sattaiah, a farmer, alleged that the staffers at the centre were secretly stealing around three kilograms of grains per bag by tampering with the weighing machine. He stated that he realised it when he weighed the same bag on another machine of a trader. He added that he sold 200 quintals of paddy to the government at the centre on Monday.

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Dandera Raju, another farmer alleged that he brought 224 quintals of paddy to the centre, but was recorded as 220 quintals in receipt given by the staffers. They alleged that the grains were weighing more than the weight shown in the machine of this centre at another weighing machine in district headquarters. They requested the officials to take steps to prevent the pilfering.

When asked, Joint Collector (Revenue) Dasari Venu said that steps were being taken to address the issue being faced by the farmers. He stated that he had instructed officials to make inquiries into the allegations of farmers and to prevent deduction of the paddy grains. He informed that steps were taken to ensure smooth procurement of paddy produce in the district.