MADURAI: The heavy pre-monsoon showers have hit the farmers in the district hard as the rain has delayed the procurement of harvested Kuruvai paddy. They have urged the civil supplies department to fast-track the procurement process as the rain would increase the moisture content in the paddy, lying exposed to the elements in a few areas.
Though the Kuruvai harvest started last month, owing to the rains, the procurement process got delayed. Sources said the procurement of paddy to date remains at 1,859 metric tonnes in the district.
Only 15 among the total 45 direct procurement centers (DPCs) are actively receiving paddy. Now, the farmers are making use of the non-rainy days to speed up the process to complete the harvest and sale of paddy.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior official of the Civil Supplies department said in view of the monsoon, at present nearly 1,000 metric tonnes of paddy are being procured at a center. "After a proposal was submitted to the collector and civil supplies department, we got permission to depute more workers and install more machines for increasing the quantity of procurement. The move will help a DPC to procure three times more than the normal quantity. This will be implemented in the district from the first week of November," he said.
The official said a special team is carrying out surprise raids at DPCs to prevent irregularities and to address other issues. "Preventive steps will be taken to tackle rain-related issues at all DPCs. The department is allowing only farmers to sell their paddy at DPCs," he added.