HYDERABAD: Telangana is expecting a bumper paddy produce this year as the crop was sown in over 52,55,607 acres this Vaanakalam, which is 11 lakh acres more than last year. The State government has set a target of procuring 70 lakh tonnes of paddy this kharif. However, as Express finds out, some districts of Telangana, especially those in the northern parts, are not yet ready with enough space in their godowns to store the rice derived out of the paddy.
The gap between the paddy to be procured and the availability of space in godowns is quite stark in Mancherial district, where 13 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy is expected to be procured. After milling, rice of around half the quantity would be derived but the storage space available in the district is just one lakh MT. And, even that is nearly full with the Yasangi produce. There is also a shortage of rice mills in the district; there are only 80.
In Nirmal district, 1.4 lakh MT of paddy is expected to be procured and the storage available is hardly one lakh MT. In Adilabad and Asifabad districts, paddy was not cultivated over a large extent. In Karimnagar, around 4.80 lakh MT is expected to be procured but the godown space available with the Civil Supplies and State Warehousing Corporation is just 41,700 MT. Under the Agricultural Marketing Committee, only 20 per cent of its 59,943 MT is available for storage, as the remaining space has been occupied.
The godown at Jammikunta is under repair, whereas only 400 MT is available at the Manakondur godown.District Manager of Civil Supplies Department M Srikanth said godowns under their control are being gradually vacated and the existing stock of rice will be sent to Hyderabad, Medchal and Rangareddy districts. The authorities also hope that the paddy from the State arrives gradually from October to December, which will give them time to move around the rice stocks and make space in godowns. However, farmers are desperate to sell their produce and start focusing on the Yasangi cropping season.
In Nizamabad district, there are 27 godowns with around 40,000 MT capacity. Among them, 10 have been hired by the FCI, which are partially filled with rice stocks. However, around 2.5 lakh MT of paddy is expected to be procured from Nizamabad and Kamareddy. ing space for the fresh stock.
Sangareddy is also expected to face some problems as the paddy harvest is expected to be three times than the normal, at about 4.5 lakh MT. While the rice mills in the district can process 4 lakh MT of paddy, these already have stock of 2 lakh MT. In the Warangal Urban and Rural districts, there are 20 godowns with a total capacity of 85,000 MT, but all are full with rice, cotton and maize. The district marketing officials said that harvesting will start after Dasara. There are 100 rice mills in both districts.
On the other hand, Khammam, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda are well placed in terms of available storage space. Nalgonda has a storage capacity of around 5.3 lakh MT tonnes - 1.2 lakh MT in FCI godowns, 2.1 lakh in SWC godowns and 2 lakh MT in private godowns.
Khammam is expecting 75,000 MT arrivals of rice after processing. The district has 50,000 MT storage in godowns. District officials said the extra 25,000 MT can be accommodated in FCI godowns and those in neighbouring districts.
Bhadradri-Kothagudem district has about 80,000MT storage capacity in its godowns for a total rice produce from the Vanakalam season of 68,000 MT. In the erstwhile Mahbubnagar, District Civil Supplies Officer K Vanajatha said 1.54 lakh MT of paddy procurement is expected. Rice mills in the district have nearly the same milling capacity, she said.
In Mahabubabad district, all godowns have been occupied with rice and cotton. There are a total of five godowns with a capacity of just 20,000 MT. In Jangaon district, the godowns are empty and ready to store rice.