KAKINADA: Kapu patriarch and former minister Mudragada Padmanabham wrote a letter addressed to Chief Ministers of AP and Telangana — YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and K Chandrashekar Rao — on Thursday suggesting that soaked and damaged paddy could be better utilised for producing rectified spirit.
“If technology is developed to make rectified spirit from damaged rice, then the paddy farmers will get assured price for their produce. With this, MSP for paddy may not be a problem for the farmers,” he observed.
Machines used for manufacturing rectified spirit from tapoica, with small changes, could be used for making rectified spirit, which can be supplied to hospitals and distilleries, he suggested.
The farmers could be helped in diverting the damaged paddy for manufacturing rectified spirit and the government could get additional revenues. Hence give serious thought into the suggestion to serve the two-fold purpose, the former minister urged both the Chief Ministers.