NIZAMABAD: A group of farmers under the leadership of district BJP president Dinesh Kulachary Patel and BJP Kisan Morcha vice president N Srinivas Reddy expressed concerns over delays in paddy procurement during the Prajavani programme held at the district offices complex (IDOC) here on Monday.
They also displayed damaged paddy, some of which had begun to germinate. Dinesh alleged that farmers had harvested over 12 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, of which 3 lakh metric tonnes are yet to be purchased.
Citing an example, he said that Ravinayak from Gandi Thanda, Indalwai, who was present there, brought 712 bags of paddy to procurement centres on 17 May, but it still has not been purchased. Meanwhile, the rice millers, citing damage to the paddy, are demanding a deduction of 17 kg per quintal. Ravinayak was willing to give 10 kg per quintal, but his paddy remains unloaded.
Dinesh stated that because of these deductions imposed by millers, the benefits of the government’s minimum support price (MSP) and `500 bonus are being unuseful.
Similar grievances were reported from farmers across Nizamabad Rural, Balkonda and Armoor Assembly constituencies, he added.
He questioned the in-charge minister, MLAs and MLCs, asking why they have not come forward to support the farmers. Meanwhile, District Collector Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu responded positively and assured the leaders and farmers that the issue would be resolved.