SANGAREDDY: Officials have started taking necessary measures to purchase paddy from farmers in Sangareddy, Siddipet and Medak districts.About 388 paddy purchasing centres are being setup in the these three districts. Of those, 188 are Indira Kranti Scheme (IKP) centres and 200 are primary cooperative societies. Officials estimate that about five lakh metric tonnes of paddy could arrive at all these purchasing centres. To ensure farmers do not face logistical issues, purchase centres are being set up at convenient spots, said officials. This is based on the difficulties reported by farmers last year in transporting their produce to purchase centres.
Authorities have increased purchase centres in Sangareddy district to 86 from 50 last year. Of these, 55 are IKP centres run by women and remaining 31 are cooperative societies. Sangareddy Joint Collector Vasam Venkateshwarlu assured that the government would arrange vehicles to transport produce to avoid hassles for farmers. He said the quantity of produce could be less compared to last Rabi season. In the Khariff season, he said, most farmers store some of the paddy for personal consumption. “I appeal to the farmers not to worry as all the paddy brought to the centres will be purchased. Paddy arrived at the centres will be immediately sent to concerned rice mills,” the official said.
Medak district Civil Supplies manager V Ramulu said they will set up a total of 203 purchasing centres in the Medak district. 40,000 acres in the district have been utilised for paddy crop, he said. “We are expecting a production of 1,60,000 metric tonnes in the district,” Ramulu said.
Siddipet district Civil Supplies manager R Ravinder said they would establish 99 paddy purchase centres in the district. Of those, 56 are IKP centres and 43 are primary cooperative societies. He said they are expecting good yield from Shanigaram project, Koheda, Usnabad, Dubbak and other areas of the district. Minimum support price will be `1,590 for A-grade paddy and `1,550 for B grade.
‘Provide bonus for paddy crops’
BJP Mahila Morcha state vice president and former Zilla Parishad Chairman C Sushini Reddy accused Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for not keeping his promise of paying Rs 1,000 bonus per quintal to farmers on all crops.
Speaking to media persons at her residence on Saturday, she said the chief minister had failed to come to the rescue of farmers who were struggling to get minimum support price for their produces. “Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh government is providing bonus on paddy. The TS government should also provide similar bonus to our farmers,” she said.