Ranipet ryots lose to traders due to shortage of DPCs

RANIPET: Regulated markets lacking space to accept paddy arrivals and the limited number of direct procurement centres (DPCs) functioning is causing problems for farmers in Ranipet district.

According to sources, the situation at DPCs has left farmers at the mercy of private traders, who form cartels and offer rock-bottom prices for paddy.

With farmers being flush with harvested paddy, trouble started after out of the 92 DPCs, which were proposed throughout the district, only 31 were opened due to shortage of billing clerks.

While DPCs offer top prices for paddy, farmers in areas sans the centres made a beeline to regulated markets. Excess arrivals resulted in both Amoor and Kalavai regulated markets putting up notices advising farmers not to bring paddy till Friday.

Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam youth wing state president R Subash shot off a petition via WhatsApp to the agriculture commissioner demanding steps to open the proposed DPCs to save farmers from the clutches of private traders.

“Farmers needing cash to repay crop loans and also seek fresh financial assistance for the next crop are the most affected as they cannot stock paddy for long,” Subash said.

The Regional Manager of Ranipet TN Civil Supplies Corporation admitted that it was originally proposed to open 92 DPCs.

“However, lack of billing clerks, who do all administrative work, has caused a hurdle in opening the 92 facilities,” she said.

With the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) planning to open and operate 21 DPCs, the district will still be short of 35 centres, “which means a sizeable number of farmers will be affected and they will be forced to sell their produce to traders,” said state general secretary of the Sangam S Udayakumar.

Start desilt works soon, demand Delta farmers

TIRUCHY: Delta farmers on Thursday, demanded to commence the desilt works in the region to keep the water bodies ready well before the customary date of opening of the Mettur dam.

At the grievances redressal meeting chaired by collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver in Thanjavur, farmers in unison demanded to grant the special incentive of Rs 195 per tonne for sugarcane that was announced in the agriculture budget. They also urged the government to initiate steps to release the amount immediately so that farmers could concentrate on the cultivation works for the next season. NV Kannan, a farmer from Rayamundanpatti, said that many waterbodies in the delta region were in a dilapidated condition and needed urgent attention. He urged the government to consult farmers from respective areas before commencing the desilt works.

Along with backing Kannan’s demand, A Thangavel from Ambalapattu stressed that the government should immediately fill the vacancies of Irrigation Guards (IG) for monitoring the water bodies and the flow in them. Similarly K Alayamani from Vettamangalam wanted desilt work to be started well in advance. “Carrying out or commencing desilt works after the release from Mettur dam will affect the flow,” he said.