Telangana: Huge demand for track harvesters in Karimnagar

Since paddy fields have become muddy after the recent rains, the demand has gone up for track harvesters, which have tracks like war tanks instead of normal wheels

Karimnagar: There is a huge demand for track (chain) harvesters in the district this year. Since paddy fields have become muddy after the recent rains, the demand has gone up for track harvesters, which have tracks like war tanks instead of normal wheels, and can tackle the slushy fields easier.

Farmers usually engage harvesters with normal tyres to harvest their crops. But the unseasonal rains this time around have upset all their plans, and hopes of better yield as well.

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Paddy has been cultivated in a big way in the erstwhile Karimnagar district since adequate water was available with the completion of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. Besides water, 24 hours of uninterrupted power supply too prompted a majority of farmers to cultivate paddy by setting aside other crops.

In the Yasangi season, paddy was cultivated in nine lakh acres in Karimnagar district alone. Though harvesting of 70 percent of the crop was completed, the remaining 30 percent paddy is still in the field.

Since the fields became muddy due to the unseasonal rains that hit the district during the last one month, farmers are now trying to engage track harvesters to salvage whatever is left of their crop. As adequate track harvesters were not available in the State, the farmers are trying to bring them from adjacent States including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The flipside is that, taking advantage of the sudden demand, owners of track harvesters have enhanced charges. In the last rainy season, they had charged Rs.2,800 to Rs.3,000 per hour to engage the vehicle. The same has now been hiked to Rs.3,600 to Rs.4,000 on the pretext of a hike in the price of diesel.

Speaking to Telangana Today, G Prabhakar Reddy, a farmer from Manakondur mandal said he was unable to get a track harvester to harvest the crop since there was a 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 had sown paddy in five acres of land, which is now muddy following the rains.

• Unseasonal rains upset plans to use normal harvesters in erstwhile Karimnagar

• Farmers trying to arrange track harvesters, which have tracks like tanks

• Efforts on to rent these from Karnataka, TN, Maharashtra and AP

• Rent charges were Rs.2,800 to Rs.3,000 per hour last year

• Charges hiked to Rs.3,600 to Rs.4,000 this year

• At least 30 percent of Yasangi paddy is yet to be harvested in district