Telangana to procure soaked paddy, says Uttam

Hyderabad: In view of the orange alert issued by the meteorological department for several districts, chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday instructed officials to remain vigilant, especially against the backdrop of ongoing paddy procurement operations.He directed officials to make additional arrangements at paddy procurement centres and expedite procurement operations. The chief minister emphasised that adequate tarpaulins should be kept ready to prevent the paddy stored in procurement yards from getting wet.Officials were also instructed to shift tarpaulins from centres where procurement has already been completed. Following the IMD’s warning of strong gusty winds and forecast of heavy rainfall, the chief minister appealed to people and farmers to remain cautious and alert.Meanwhile, irrigation and civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy assured the farmers that there was no need for panic over rain-drenched paddy, as the state govt will procure the rain drenched paddy too. “The govt has activated an intensive emergency response mechanism to protect soaked grain and ensure procurement of every last grain reaching the purchase centres. Unseasonal rains in some areas had led to paddy getting drenched at procurement centres, prompting immediate intervention by the administration,” he said, chairing a video conference with ministers, district collectors, senior civil supplies officials and police authorities.The review was convened in view of sudden rains and adverse weather conditions affecting paddy procurement operations in several districts. Deputy Chief Minister, Bhatti Vikramarka, Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and Civil Supplies Commissioner, Stephen Ravindra also joined the review. Telangana had so far recorded paddy arrivals of 66.75 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), out of which nearly 57 LMT had already been procured. The government has released Rs 10,096 crore directly into the accounts of over 8.14 lakh farmers under MSP payments.“Reports about rain-drenched paddy were received from 17 districts, involving nearly 9,214 metric tonnes. In a massive salvage operation launched overnight, authorities succeeded in shifting nearly 95 per cent of the soaked paddy to boiled rice mills, thereby preventing major crop loss,” Uttam said. District collectors, RDOs, additional collectors, tahsildars and civil supplies teams were placed on high alert following heavy rain forecast issued by the weather officials. Vehicles were mobilised from early morning hours to ensure immediate transportation of drenched stocks from procurement centres to mills.