BHAWANIPATNA: With monsoon arriving in the state, chaos prevails at the paddy procurement centres across Kalahandi district.
Due to delay in rabi paddy procurement, farmers are apprehensive of damage to their stocks due to rains.
When rains lashed the area on June 21, they struggled to arrange polythene sheets to cover the stocks in the mandis.
Procurement of paddy in the district was delayed by a fortnight due to reluctance of custom millers to participate in the process till payment of their dues towards paddy maintenance.
Sale of paddy, which was to begin on May 5, started on May 16.
Then labourers threatened not to load and unload paddy from procurement centres demanding hike in daily wage.
Adding to the farmers’ woes, the State Government is yet to finalise its procurement target for the district.
As per the registration of farmers for rabi procurement, 32 lakh quintal of paddy has to be procured from Kalahandi.
The Civil Supply Department is procuring paddy phase wise and till Friday, 22 lakh quintal was sold.
Under these circumstances, unsold paddy stocks are lying in the open in mandis.
The farmers, who had received tokens for selling paddy, are still waiting for their turn to take part in the procurement process.
In mandis at Tarapur, Charbahal, Mandal, Badkutru, Bijmara, Bandhkana, Dulkibandh, Kalampur and Dasigaon, paddy stocks are lying in the open.
Apparently, officials in charge of procurement are yet to get their target from the Civil Supply Department. The farmers have to spend sleepless night at the mandis to guard their produce.
Civil Supply Officer Sibaprasad Dora said steps are being taken to lift the sold paddy stock from mandis.
“The Civil Supply Department has been asked to allot the remaining procurement target immediately so that the paddy stocks can be cleared,” he added.
Kharif plans drawn for Kalahandi
Kalahandi district has set a target of cultivating kharif paddy in two lakh hectare (ha).
This was decided at the kharif strategy meeting that was held under the chairmanship of ADM Chandan Srichandan on June 21.
Deputy Director of Agriculture Antaryami Malik said of the total cropping area of 3,78,000 ha, paddy would be covered in 2,01,857 ha.
Cotton will be grown in 60,000 ha.
With the state government focussing on non-paddy crops in the kharif season, it has been targeted to cover 73,500 ha under different kinds of pulses, 15,272 ha under oil seeds and millets in 13,936 ha.
Crop production target is 8,74,325 tonne for paddy.