TIRUCHY: With Met Department issuing heavy rain alerts during the weekend for the district, the Agriculture Department has alerted farmers to take plan the harvest ahead of the rain or take steps to save the harvest-ready crops. Following the rainfall alert, the Civil Supplies Department has planned to open 18 additional DPCs to quicken paddy procurement.
According to the Met Department report released on Thursday, a depression has formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining the equatorial Indian Ocean and lay centered over the same region. It is likely to intensify into a deep depression and likely to move northwestwards along and off the east coast of Sri Lanka towards the north Tamil Nadu coast in the next 48 hours. Yellow and orange alerts have been issued for several coastal and delta districts over the weekend.
Though the majority of the Samba season paddy has been harvested, about 30 per cent of Samba and Thaladi season paddy are yet to be harvested in Tiruchy. Similarly, several tonnes of harvested paddy have been kept outside DPCs for sale.
Kavundampatti Subramaniam, secretary of Cauvery Delta Farmers Association, said, "Despite completing the harvest, we have kept our harvested paddy near the local DPCs for nearly 5 to 7 days. Now, we have guard our paddy covering them using tarpaulins when it rains. If the paddy gets wet, we have to spend a fortune to dry it and repack it. We request the Civil Supplies Department to take steps to quicken the procurement process."
A senior official from the Agriculture Department said that based on the Met Department report, all block-level officials have been told to guide farmers, who are yet to start the harvest process, to plan according to the warning. The Civil Supplies Department has been told to open more DPCs to help the farmers. Several measures are being suggested to the farmers to save the standing crops.
Speaking to TNIE, Merlin Dorathi, Regional Manager of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Department, said, "At present, there are 49 DPCs in the district and each centre is procuring an average of 1,000 bags a day. At each centre, nearly 4,000 to 5,000 bags which were brought earlier by farmers have been kept. Following the rainfall warning, we have received an order from the Collector to open an additional 18 DPC by Friday to quicken paddy procurement in Tiruchy. Special guidelines are being given to DPC workers to immediately move the procured paddy to govt warehouses. and also tarpaulins were given to DPCs to safeguard the available stock at DPCs in case of rainfall."