Farmers decry lack of basic amenities paddy procurement centres in Mancherial

Beddapla Somaiah, a farmer from Tekenapalli village in Hajipur mandal said the paddy was not purchased even after it was brought to the centre a fortnight ago.

Mancherial: Paddy produce shifted to procurement centres were drenched due to the untimely rains on Tuesday, causing losses to farmers in the district, who are now complaining that the centres were not equipped with basic amenities to protect the paddy.

Beddapla Somaiah, a farmer from Tekenapalli village in Hajipur mandal said the paddy was not purchased even after it was brought to the centre a fortnight ago.

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“Citing poor quality, the staffers advised me to filter the produce. Now, the grains were damaged by the unseasonal rains. I will witness huge losses if the produce is not bought,” he said.

Odelu Gundarapu, another farmer of Bheemaram mandal, lamented that the centre had no basic amenities, including tarpaulin covers to prevent damage of the paddy. He stated that the paddy he brought to the centre got wet due to the unexpected rains.

Farmers were also being forced to sit under trees following lack of shade at the facility. Farmers reasoned that the produce was not being purchased due to shortage of trucks and gunny bags at the centres for over three weeks. They were left with no option but to wait at the centres carrying the produce relying on the mercy of nature.

They demanded the officials to take steps to procure the wet grains and prevent losses to them. When asked, Additional Collector (Revenue) S Motilal said that efforts were being made to ensure smooth procurement of paddy grains belonging to the Yasangi season.

He stated that steps were being taken to provide sufficient lorries to transport the produce from procurement centres to rice mills, besides addressing the shortage of gunny bags and other challenges. Officials of the civil supplies department said that 53,167 metric tonnes of paddy produce was already procured from 7,448 farmers till Tuesday as against the target of 1.76 lakh metric tonnes.

The farmers were paid Rs 42.49 crore so far. A total of 262 centres including 105 centres belonging to Indira Kranthi Pathakam (IKP), 130 centres of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) and 27 centres belonging to District Cooperative Marketing Society, were created for procuring paddy of the ongoing agriculture season.