The Telangana government on Tuesday assured paddy farmers that it will continue procurement of paddy till the last grain.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the government was procuring even the soaked and wet paddy.
Addressing a news conference, he alleged that the opposition parties were running false propaganda against the government over the issue of paddy procurement, and uttering lies has become a habit of the leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Vikramarka advised the opposition parties not to politicise paddy procurement for political mileage and accused them of troubling farmers for their political interests. He said the farmers need not worry as the government would procure even the last soaked and wet grain.
Noting that the procurement started 15 days in advance, he said that more procurement centres were opened across the state.
Stating that the government is committed to purchasing the entire crop, the Deputy Chief Minister remarked that perhaps this commitment is not digestible to the opposition parties, and recalled that the previous government had not procured soaked and sprouted paddy.
He said when he undertook his padayatra, thousands of farmers lamented their plight.
“Our government is procuring wet, soaked and sprouted paddy and also ensuring Minimum Support Price for farmers,” he said.
He said that the government was crediting the amount into farmers’ bank accounts within three days, claiming that no government in the past paid the amount within three days. He also brushed aside the criticism by the opposition parties over the paddy bonus issue, saying that the government initiated the process to pay a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal with fine varieties of paddy.
He recalled that former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had remarked that sowing paddy is like getting a noose around the neck.
Meanwhile, a note on the status of Rabi paddy procurement shows that the government has so far procured 37.59 lakh tonnes so far, against 33.97 lakh tonnes procured during the Rabi season of 2022-23.
Paddy procurement this year began on March 25 while it started on April 9 last year. This time the government has opened 7,171 paddy procurement centres against 6,889 last year. Sufficient tarpaulins were provided to every paddy purchase centre to protect the paddy from rain.
An increased number of paddy cleaners and weighing machines were provided. Fans and blowers were used for quick drying of paddy. Technology was harnessed and Accuweather App was used for near-accurate forecasts of hourly weather.