HYDERABAD: Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday assured farmers that there was “absolutely no need for panic” over rain-drenched paddy, asserting that the state government would protect soaked grain and procure every last grain reaching purchase centres.
He said reports of rain-drenched paddy were received from 17 districts, involving nearly 9,214 tonnes. In a massive overnight salvage operation, officials shifted nearly 95% of the soaked paddy to boiled rice mills, preventing major crop loss.
Chairing a videoconference with ministers, district collectors, senior civil supplies officials and police authorities, Uttam said the review meeting was convened in view of sudden rains and adverse weather conditions affecting paddy procurement operations in several districts.
Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and Civil Supplies Commissioner Stephen Ravindra were present.
The minister said the government had been conducting daily monitoring of procurement operations and fixing district-wise targets. While many districts recorded strong procurement performance, unseasonal rains in some areas led to paddy getting drenched at procurement centres, prompting immediate intervention by the administration.
According to the minister, Telangana has so far recorded paddy arrivals of 66.75 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), of which nearly 57 LMT has already been procured.