Slow procurement, rains damaging paddy: Ryots

According to farmers from Thanjavur, while the process to harvest summer crops was in the final stage, the DPC staff showed slackness in procuring the paddy and this has resulted in paddy stocks piling up in large quantities, which has forced farmers to wait for several weeks for their turn.

The sudden rains that lashed Delta region had left farmers dejected as paddy stocks have started sprouting. Farmers said that there was widespread rain in various parts of the district in which the paddy heaped before the DPCs got drenched. They claimed that around 25,000 bags of paddy had been damaged.

“We have been waiting for more than 20 days and almost all our harvest had gone waste because of the rains and delay in procurement,” said Dharmaraj, a farmer from Ammapettai in Thanjavur.

Dharmaraj said that each DPC takes just 500 bags a day. “At least 1,000 bags should be procured per day which will solve our problem to some extent,” he added.

However, a DPC staff, on condition of anonymity, said that lorries booked for transporting procured paddy do not reach on time. So, we ask the farmers to wait as the stocking facility in DPCs is limited. We have been insisting the officials to ensure proper arrangements and waiting for their response, he said.