TIRUNELVELI: Recent rains have damaged a portion of over 30,000 paddy bags stored at the Tirunelveli Regulated Market in Ramayanpatti, leaving farmers worried about major financial losses due to deterioration in both quality and quantity.
Several paddy bags kept in the open had become wet, with grains sprouting in some and others beginning to rot. The bags stacked at the bottom of the piles were the worst affected. On Monday, farmers were seen removing damaged paddy from their sacks in an attempt to salvage the remaining stock.
According to farmers, the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) had initially weighed the paddy bags when they were brought to the market for storage. However, the bags would be weighed again at the time of procurement, raising fears of reduced payments because of moisture and spoilage.
“I brought 49 bags of paddy to the market nearly one-and-a-half months ago. Due to lack of storage facilities, we were forced to keep them in the open. At least 40,000 bags belonging to various farmers are lying here.
The changing weather conditions are affecting both the quality and quantity of the paddy, which will reduce the payment we receive after re-weighing,” V Srinivasan, a farmer, told TNIE. Another farmer alleged that the NCCF administration delayed supplying bags required for repacking the damaged produce.
“The NCCF staff told us the paddy would be procured only after repacking it in NCCF-provided sacks. Despite repeated requests, we have not received them. I brought three labourers for repacking work, paying `500 along and meal-allowance for the three days, but we were turned away each time. We are losing our paddy to the rain,” he said.
When contacted, NCCF district manager Baskar said the situation arose due to the premature closure of state-run Direct Procurement Centres (DPCs) and a shortage of trucks for transportation. “After the DPCs were closed, a large number of farmers brought their produce to our centre. We are able to procure only around 1,000 bags a day, but we are trying to purchase them soon,” he said.
Farmers in Sathankulam and Peikulam in Thoothukudi have also alleged that 500 paddy bags stored in open spaces at DPCs were damaged during rain that lashed the district recently.
Meanwhile, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the state government to immediately resolve the problems faced by farmers in northern districts, where paddy procurement has been delayed for over a week. According to him, paddy bags already procured had not been moved to warehouses due to a shortage of lorries.
