Shobha Nagi Reddy death brings paddy menace to the fore

Hyderabad: Shobha Nagi Reddy died when her driver had to suddenly apply the brakes to avoid crops drying on the road. Most village roads and national highways in the state and in Karnataka are in this season covered with paddy, grains, wheat and other crops laid out to dry by farmers.

While Thursday’s incident has highlighted the problem, regular drivers on the national highways in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and even at the borders of Maharashtra and Goa claim that it is a regular feature in the month of May and October.

Satish Mazumdar, who runs a travel agency in the city says, “All our highway drivers are aware that in April, May and later in October and on some days of November, the crops are dried on the roads. In fact, half the width of some roads in Karnataka are covered, resulting in two-lane roads becoming single lane roads.” Motorists usually do not drive over the grains considering it to be a bad omen. The grains are left out to dry during the day for three to four days at a stretch, with a senior member of the village guarding them.

The All India Tours and Travels Association has often complained about this practice to the highway authorities as well as to the police.

A member of the federation, Jamal Sheikh, who runs a travel agency in the city said, “On routes where there is heavy traffic, these  practices are not followed as we constantly complain.

But apart from the highways, this menace is rampant on smaller roads as well. Farmers are not willing to understand that the roads are meant for vehicles and not for drying crops.”

While the police is alert when branches fall across roads, they have not been able to convince farmers against drying grains on the roads.