Madurai: Farmers in Sivaganga district have demanded that the 4.5 lakh paddy bags stagnating in procurement centres in the district should be procured without further delay.
Tamil Nadu Farmers Association Sivaganga district president A Jayaraman said that the paddy has been stagnating throughout Sivanganga ever since they started harvesting early last month.
Paddy procurement centres are opened as required in the district by Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation which procures the produce from farmers in a decentralised manner.
He said that civil supplies officials had told them that 45 procurement centres had been opened in the unions in the district including Thirupuvanam, Ilayangudi, Kallal, Manamadurai, and Devakottai. It is not open on all days of the week as the workers and agents prefer to open and close them at their convenience.
He says that the 4.5 lakh paddy bags brought by the farmers are lying in the open outside the procurement centres because the procurement centres said they did not have adequate gunny bags to pack it.
They were told that the government had given 2,000 gunny bags to each procurement centre, but the requirement was about 10,000 bags per centre.
If the paddy is not packed and taken by the government immediately, it was in danger of getting spoilt or sprouting after the slightest drizzle.
Paddy brought to the centres from January 25 to 27 is still outside these centres without being procured, he said.
Tamil Nadu Farmers Association Sivaganga district president A Jayaraman said that the paddy has been stagnating throughout Sivanganga ever since they started harvesting early last month.
Paddy procurement centres are opened as required in the district by Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation which procures the produce from farmers in a decentralised manner.
He said that civil supplies officials had told them that 45 procurement centres had been opened in the unions in the district including Thirupuvanam, Ilayangudi, Kallal, Manamadurai, and Devakottai. It is not open on all days of the week as the workers and agents prefer to open and close them at their convenience.
He says that the 4.5 lakh paddy bags brought by the farmers are lying in the open outside the procurement centres because the procurement centres said they did not have adequate gunny bags to pack it.
They were told that the government had given 2,000 gunny bags to each procurement centre, but the requirement was about 10,000 bags per centre.
If the paddy is not packed and taken by the government immediately, it was in danger of getting spoilt or sprouting after the slightest drizzle.
Paddy brought to the centres from January 25 to 27 is still outside these centres without being procured, he said.
