NALGONDA/ KARIMNAGAR/ SIDDIPET : Heavy unseasonal rainfall lashed Suryapet district from Wednesday evening until midnight, submerging approximately 5,000 quintals of paddy stored at IKP centres in Thungathurthi, Arvapalli, Thirumalagiri, and Nagaram mandals. This has worsened an already dire situation caused by persistent delays in procurement.
The delays in purchasing paddy at IKP centres are attributed to a shortage of weighing machines and lorries. In addition, farmers are struggling with procurement centres refusing to accept paddy due to high moisture content.
This has created a vicious cycle where sun-dried paddy is repeatedly soaked by sudden rainstorms. Disheartened by the ongoing crisis, some farmers have reportedly begun selling their produce at significantly lower prices.
The severity of the crisis led to a suicide attempt by a farmer at a paddy procurement centre managed by the Rythu Seva Sahakara Sangham in Annaram village, Thungathurthi mandal. Uppula Venkanna, a resident of Annaram, brought 150 bags of paddy to the centre on April 15.
When his produce remained unweighed until Wednesday evening, a frustrated Venkanna attempted to set himself on fire by pouring petrol over himself. Thankfully, alert fellow farmers intervened just in time and prevented the tragedy.
A civil supplies official acknowledged the transportation delays, explaining that millers are not promptly unloading paddy from lorries at the mills, causing a backlog. However, the official urged farmers not to panic, assuring them that even the soaked paddy would be procured.
A few days ago, the farmers in the erstwhile Medak district faced problems due to the lack of the required number of lorries and hamalis.
In several paddy procurement centres, the farmers were forced to stay more than three days to sell the produce. Due to delays, sometimes the paddy got soaked in the rainwater and officials refused to buy the wet paddy.
Similarly, paddy procurement was sluggish in erstwhile Warangal district. According to the data obtained by TNIE, paddy purchased at the procurement centres as of a few days ago was 130,000 metric tonnes in Jangaon district as against the target of 185,000 metric tonnes.
In Karimnagar district, a farmer, P Tirupati Reddy, from Jagtial complained that several others like him spent sleepless nights at paddy procurement centres due to shortage of hamalis and delay in transportation.
The paddy procurement process in Nizamabad district was mired in confusion, with officials maintaining that operations were proceeding smoothly, while farmers’ associations and political leaders alleged delays and irregularities involving rice millers.
Market yard damaged
Rain lashed several parts of erstwhile Karimnagar district since Wednesday evening. In Jagtial, several colonies were flooded on Thursday. Water leaking from drain pipes inundated the roads in Tower Circle, Sargamma Sandi, Pochammawada and Prakasham Gunj.
The rains also damaged the paddy at the Metpally market yard. Farmers complained that they had been waiting for officials to lift their produce for the last 20 days. Maize, brought to Metpally from the Choppadandi agricultural market yard, also got soaked in the rain.
‘Procure soaked paddy at MSP’
Several farmers have urged the government to come to their aid, stating that they have suffered heavy losses due to rains. Farmers from Rangampet, Medak staged a rasta roko on Thursday, alleging that the authorities were refusing to buy rain-soaked paddy.
Heavy rains have adversely affected Siddipet, Toguta, Ramayampet and Toopran areas. In some places, paddy brought to procurement centres got soaked, while at other places, it was washed away entirely. Farmers blame officials and the government for failing to procure the paddy on time.
“For the fourth time, paddy in Siddipet has got soaked in the rainwater. We could have avoided this if the officials had procured it in time and shifted it to godowns. The government must procure the soaked paddy at MSP,” demanded Venkanna, a farmer from Siddipet.