‘Govt fails to ensure procurement of paddy in full’

PNS|Jayashankar Bhupalapally

Manthani MLA D Sridhar Babu has warned the State government of severe repercussions if it fails to procure paddy from farmers.

He charged the government with not paying attention to solving farmers’ problems on the pretext that it has been extending input subsidy to farmers under the Rytu Bandhu. He inspected the paddy procurement centres at Dhanwada and Sankarampalli of Kataram mandal in the district on Wednesday.

Addressing a gathering, he accused the government of procuring only a fine variety of paddy and not procuring the common variety.

Farmers who brought their paddy to the procurement centres complained to the MLA that the procurement refused to accept 1001 variety of paddy though they pleaded with the officials. The farmers have been drying the paddy for the past one month at the procurement centre.

Expressing concern over agriculture becoming an unprofitable venture, the farmers said that the officials at the procurement centres have been imposing a cut of three kg of fine variety of rice per quintal one or other pretext. They urged the MLA to ensure that the farmers are not held hostage by the officials.

Woman farmers have expressed their anguish as they were forced to spend at their drying yards for over a month, but the rice millers are not coming forward to procure a coarse variety of paddy. Having procured paddy from farmers, the officials are not giving truck sheets to the farmers.

Such a pathetic situation prevailed in the Bhupalapally district. The MLA spoke to District Collector Bhavesh Misra and Joint Collector and District Supplies Officer over the mobile phone and asked them to make arrangements for the procurement of 1001 common variety of paddy.

If the government failed to procure the paddy from farmers, the officials would have to face severe repercussions, he cautioned them.

The farmers appealed to the MLA to ensure that the rice millers procured the paddy brought to the procurement centres.

Mandal Parishad president Pantakani Sammaiah, Sankarampalli Sarpanch Angajala Ashok, political functionaries Kunta Sankar, K Tirupati Goud, Azmeera Raju Naik and others were present.