SANGAREDDY: The state government is implementing alternative measures to address the challenges arising in the erstwhile Medak district due to untimely rains and inadequate storage capacity in rice mills. Persistent rainfall over the past three days has led to the paddy in various areas of the district becoming completely wet. Additionally, the grain delivered to purchasing centres has not been dispatched to the rice mills. Consequently, farmers staged protests on Friday and Saturday, demanding the purchase of wet grain.
To address the situation, the government has decided to divert the grain arriving at purchasing centres in Medak district to Siddipet and Mahbubnagar districts. A special order to this effect was issued on Friday night, stipulating the transfer of 15,000 metric tons of paddy to mills in Siddipet district and 40,000 metric tons to mills in Mahbubnagar district. Civil supplies officials in Medak district have commenced the transfer of paddy grain to rice mills in these two districts since Friday night.
Officials said that farmers across the district are demanding the immediate purchase and transfer of all grain to rice mills, but logistical constraints prevent such action. Despite one lorry being capable of transporting 6,000 tonnes of grain from purchase centres to rice mills daily, approximately 10,000 tonnes of grain are arriving at purchasing centres each day, leading to logistical issues. A rice mill owner stated that upon receiving 10,000 tons of grain, there was insufficient capacity to unload it at the mills.
Hari Prasad, a civil supplies officer in Medak, said they have been transporting paddy grain to rice mills in Mahbubnagar districts from Siddipet since Friday night. He mentioned that 12 lorries of paddy were dispatched on Friday night, with an additional 40 to 50 lorries scheduled for Sunday.