Farmers forced to dry harvested paddy on service roads

Nalgonda: Due to severe space shortages at Paddy Procurement Centres (PPCs), farmers in Suryapet district have been forced to dry their harvested paddy on service roads along National Highway 365BB, with the situation stretching for nearly 20 km from Tekumatla. The farmers have blamed the backlog in paddy weighing at PPCs, which are reportedly overwhelmed and lacking in storage facilities.

Adding to the problem, the incomplete construction of “Kallalu” — designated open drying yards — has left farmers without proper infrastructure. Out of the 6,752 kallalu sanctioned in erstwhile Nalgonda district, only 1,255 have been completed. In Suryapet district, just 825 of 3,715 have been finished, while Yadadri-Bhongir saw the completion of only 289 out of 3,364 kallalu. These projects were initiated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) by the previous BRS government.

During a Bhu Bharathi awareness programme held at Nuthankal on Wednesday, farmers raised their concerns directly with revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. They alleged that officials of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) were intentionally delaying procurement in collusion with rice millers.

The gap between paddy production and procurement further highlights the crisis. In the previous monsoon season, Nalgonda district recorded 5.18 lakh metric tonnes of fine rice variety paddy, but only 2,513 metric tonnes were procured through PPCs. Similarly, in Suryapet, only 2,600 metric tonnes were procured out of a total 8.19 lakh metric tonnes.

Protests have also surfaced, with some farmers reportedly setting fire to their harvested crop in frustration over procurement delays.

Farmer S. Ramachandru from Suryapet said he had no choice but to dry his paddy on the roadside, where procurement centre staff were also weighing produce due to the lack of space. “Had the kallalu been completed, this situation could have been avoided,” he said.

Another farmer, N. Yadagiri, stated that he sold his produce directly to rice mills after realising that he would need to wait over a week to complete the process at a PPC.

In response, Suryapet DRDA project director V. Appa Rao said measures were underway to speed up the procurement process. He urged farmers to sell their produce at the official centres to receive the Minimum Support Price and bonuses for fine rice varieties.