ADILABAD: People across the erstwhile Adilabad district are facing extreme climatic conditions, with some areas recording unseasonal rains while others experiencing soaring temperatures. Adilabad and Nirmal districts recorded 45.5°C temperature, while parts of Mancherial district experienced heavy rainfall, damaging paddy stocks at procurement centres.
In Jannaram mandal of Mancherial district, heavy rain coupled with strong gales lashed the area for about an hour on Saturday night. The rain severely damaged paddy stored at procurement centres, causing delays in ongoing procurement operations.
Distressed farmers staged a rasta roko at Indhanapally village along the Nirmal–Mancherial road. Former Adilabad ZP chairman and BRS leader Rathod Janardhan, who was en route to a party meeting, visited the affected procurement centres and participated in the farmers’ protest. They demanded that the government immediately purchase the paddy, including the rain-damaged stocks, without any restrictions.
Farmers, worried by the unpredictable weather, are trying to protect their grain by covering it with plastic sheets at the centres.
Marketing officials said that procurement centres will remain open and so far, 12,074 metric tonnes of paddy have been purchased from 1,493 farmers in Mancherial district. An amount of Rs 35 lakh has already been deposited into farmers’ accounts. Farmers are being provided the support price along with a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal.
Meanwhile, heatwave conditions persisted across the region. In Adilabad district, Sirikonda mandal recorded 45.5°C, while Narsapur (G) mandal in Nirmal district registered 45.4°C. Kumurambheem Asifabad district headquarters recorded 44.8°C and Kasipet mandal in Mancherial district reported 43.8°C.
Mango crop hit
Unseasonal rains on Saturday night wreaked havoc on paddy stocks at procurement centres and severely damaged mango crops in Peddapalli and Jagtial districts.
Large quantities of paddy, harvested over the past 10 days and stored at agricultural market yards and IKP centres for drying, were soaked as farmers, caught off guard by the sudden downpour, had not covered their stocks. Farmers, disheartened by the damage, said it would take several days to dry the wet paddy and demanded that the government purchase the discoloured grains at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). They also urged authorities to expedite the procurement process due to the unpredictable weather.
In Jagtial district, the rains, coupled with strong gales, caused extensive damage to mango orchards. Distressed farmers appealed to the government for immediate assistance.
Rice millers refuse to buy wet paddy
Farmers in Nizamabad, Armoor, and Balkonda Assembly constituencies faced significant difficulties due to unseasonal rains that occurred last night. The rainfall, which lasted over an hour, caused water to flood the paddy stocks at several procurement centres, including those in Nizamabad market yard.
The sudden downpour led to paddy being soaked, forcing farmers to dry the stocks under the sun. Lorry shortages have further delayed the purchase process at the market yard, while insufficient tarpaulins provided by officials failed to protect the crops from the rain.
Farmers also reported that rice millers refused to accept wet paddy, claiming it was of poor quality and deducting from the total weight due to supposed “wastage”. The affected farmers urged officials to speed up the paddy procurement process to mitigate their losses.