Rain-soaked paddy will be procured without fail, assures Uttam Kumar Reddy

Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar assured farmers that the Telangana government would procure all rain-soaked paddy amid losses caused by unseasonal rains. The State launched emergency measures to shift soaked grain and speed up procurement operations across affected districts

Hyderabad: Amid demands from the farming community and opposition parties over losses suffered due to unseasonal rains, Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar assured that the State government would procure all the soaked grain.

The Minister on Wednesday assured farmers that there was absolutely no need for panic over rain-drenched paddy.

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“The State Government has activated an intensive emergency response mechanism to protect soaked grain and ensure procurement of every grain reaching the purchase centres,” he said.

Chairing a video conference with Ministers, district collectors, senior civil supplies officials and police authorities, the Minister said the review was convened in view of sudden rains and adverse weather conditions affecting paddy procurement operations in several districts.

Telangana had so far recorded paddy arrivals of 66.75 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), out of which nearly 57 LMT had already been procured. The government has released Rs 10,096 crore directly into the accounts of over 8.14 lakh farmers under MSP payments, he said.

The Minister said reports about rain-drenched paddy were received from 17 districts, involving nearly 9,214 metric tonnes. In a massive salvage operation launched overnight, authorities succeeded in shifting nearly 95 per cent of the soaked paddy to boiled rice mills, thereby preventing major crop loss, he stated.

About 9 LMT of paddy still remained to be procured, while another 8.1 LMT was expected to arrive from fields where harvesting operations were continuing, especially in districts like Siddipet, Nagarkurnool and Jagtial, he said.

The Minister wanted the lorries engaged in sand transport to be withdrawn and pressed into the transportation of procured paddy. The lorries engaged in cement dispatches should also be diverted for paddy transport to mills, he said.