National highway turns paddy drying platform in Karimnagar

Farmers from Kothagattu and Gollapalli are utilizing these roads to dry their produce since it is more spacious and comfortable for them.

Karimnagar: The under construction Jagtial-Warangal national highway-563 has become a platform to dry paddy in some places in Karimnagar district.

Though it is a routine practice to dry paddy on local and internal roads, a shortage of drying areas and platforms has forced farmers to depend on even national highways now.

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As part of work on the Jagtial-Warangal national highway, earthen roads and culverts are being constructed in some areas. Works on earthen roads are under progress in Thadikal, Ambalpur, Keshapatnam, Molangur crossroads, Gollapalli and Kothagattu.

Farmers from Kothagattu and Gollapalli are utilizing these roads to dry their produce since it is more spacious and comfortable for them.

Usually, farmers would occupy one side of local and internal roads to dry the paddy.

Compared to local roads, the space on national highways is much bigger, prompting farmers to spread the paddy on the roads placing tarpaulins before covering it with tarpaulin again.

Speaking to Telangana Today, a farmer from Kothagattu, Rajaiah, said they had no other options to dry the harvested paddy since there were no drying platforms arranged by the authorities. When asked about objections by national highway authorities, Rajaiah said the officials were also cooperating. Moreover, they were using spots where the work of the national highway was not in progress.

Farmers also reserve roads in advance by placing empty fertilizer bags on the roads before the beginning of the harvesting season. Such scenes can be witnessed all across the district, especially in Huzurabad, Veenavanka, Manakondur, Jammikunta and other areas.

Paddy is sowed in 2.66 lakh acres in the Yasangi season in Karimnagar district and 5.6 lakh metric tons of paddy is expected. Earlier, farmers used to engage labourers to harvest the crop and shift it to the market only after completely drying in the field itself.

Nowadays, drying the crop has become a big problem since harvester machines have been engaged to harvest the crop since the field is not suitable for drying purposes after using harvester machines.

As the authorities at paddy purchasing centers are asking farmers to bring the crop only after drying, ryots are forced to look for options since a majority of them do not have adequate space in their houses.

However, road safety activists have expressed concern, pointing out motorists drive bikes through the paddy spread on the road, leading to accidents.