Heavy rains leave paddy farmers in Karimnagar in lurch as demand for track harvesters surges

Due to inadequate availability of these harvesters in the state, farmers are having to source them from neighboring states

Karimnagar: The recent heavy rains in Karimnagar have left paddy farmers in a bind, with muddy fields making it difficult to harvest crops.

As a result, there has been a surge in demand for track harvesters, which are better suited to cutting crops in such conditions. However, due to inadequate availability of these harvesters in the state, farmers are having to source them from neighboring states, leading to exorbitant charges by the harvester owners.

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With the completion of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, paddy cultivation has seen a significant increase in Karimnagar, with many farmers setting aside other crops.

However, the untimely rains have caused difficulties in harvesting, causing farmers like G Prabhakar Reddy to struggle to find affordable harvesting solutions.

Farmers usually engage harvestors which are fitted with normal tyres to harvest the crops. Since the normal harvestors are not suitable to operate in slushy fields, farmers are forced to go for the track harvesters, which use metal conveyor belts instead of rubber tyres.

In addition to availability of plenty of water to irrigate, courtesy the Kaleshwaram project, the uninterrupted power supply throughout the day has made many a farmer opt for paddy cultivation.

In the Yasangi season, paddy was cultivated in about nine lakh acres in Karimnagar district alone. Though the harvesting of 70 percent of the crop was completed, the remaining 30 percent paddy crop is yet to be harvested.

With unseasonal rains lashing the old Karimnagar district during the last one month, farmers are trying to engage these track harvesters. The demand is so high that farmers are trying to bring them from neighbouring states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and even Tamil Nadu.

Taking advantage of the demand, owners of track harvesters have enhanced charges. In the last rainy season, Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,000 was charged to engage the vehicle per hour. But now, it has been enhanced to Rs 3,600 to Rs 4,000 on the pretext of diesel price hike.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Prabhakar Reddy of Manakondur mandal, said that he was unable to get a track harvester to harvest the crop since there was huge demand for them.

Owners of harvesters were charging high though there was no guarantee that the entire crop would be harvested without any wastage.

Prabhakar Reddy sowed paddy in his five acres of land which has become muddy following the recent rains. Paddy grains would fall in the fields if a track harvester was used to harvest the crop. Moreover, grass would also go waste, said Sadanandam from Kalwasrirampur mandal.