Paddy may get damaged, purchase it, Bandi tells TS

BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar expressed concern that the paddy of farmers could be badly damaged because of the recent rains and demanded that the government expedite the procurement process.

Addressing a Kisan Morcha meeting on Saturday, he lamented that the government was not waking up to the ground-realities, particularly to the perennial problems caused by rains. He said delays in procurement of grain had put farmers in a quandary for weeks at a stretch. He criticised the state government for not being keen on buying yasangi grain. He said there was an improper estimate by officials from the department of agriculture with regard to the quantity of yield and also for lack of gunny bags. Rains are common during this season, but it is questionable why adequate tarpaulins were not placed at purchasing centres where farmers store their grain, he said.

Sanjay reminded that there was sufficient information that in the absence of sufficient tarpaulins almost the entire produce would be washed away. He asked the Chief Minister if he did not hear the wails of farmers from Karimnagar, Mancheriyal and Kamareddy districts, when their grain became wet due to unseasonal rains pushing them to the brink of financial troubles. The BJP leader said that when people are trying to deal with corona and save themselves, Telangana farmers have become vulnerable to the pandemic as they have to spend weeks in the market to sell their yield. Agriculture officials are drawing allround criticism for exploiting farmers in the name of thal (wastage for quintal), Sanjay alleged.