MADURAI: Farmers across Madurai have raised concerns over the delay in opening Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) for kuruvai paddy procurement, alleging only half of the sanctioned 44 centres have begun operations. They said the delay has forced many farmers to wait for several days to sell paddy even as northeast monsoon season has started.
“I cultivated paddy on about 10 acres and harvested nearly 200 bags last week, but procurement has not yet begun at the Thanichiyam DPC. Officials cited worker shortage and other reasons for the delay. Because of this, I had to postpone harvesting the remaining crop,” said Nallu, a paddy farmer from Thanichiyam village.
A N M Thirupathi Muthuramalingam, a farmer from Kulamangalam, said, “Water for Kuruvai cultivation was released in June, and the crops were ready for harvest by the first week of October. Despite this, the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) delayed opening several DPCs, leaving farmers anxious about storing their produce safely.”
Farmer leader M P Raman appealed to the Union government to increase the permissible moisture content in paddy to 24%, as recommended by the central inspection team.
A senior official from the TNCSC said, “44 DPCs were sanctioned for Madurai this season. One centre began operations before Deepavali, and at present, 41 DPCs are fully functional. The worker shortage issue has been resolved by deploying labourers from Tiruvannamalai and other districts, and the centres are presently having an adequate number of workers.
“So far, around 2,110 tonnes of paddy have been procured in the district. Since the district hasn’t witnessed heavy rainfall in recent days, no damage has been reported,” the official added.
During the farmers’ grievance meeting held in Madurai on Tuesday, the District Revenue Officer (DRO) instructed TNCSC officials to ensure that all DPC clerks treat farmers courteously and refrain from collecting any unauthorised charges.