Paddy not being purchased in Khammam, says Kisan Morcha chief

KHAMMAM: Bharatiya Kisan Morcha state president Kondapalli Sridhar Reddy said on Monday that farmers are suffering due to the non-lifting of paddy at Indira Kranthi Patham centres.

Sridhar Reddy, who visited the paddy fields at Patharpadu in Tirumalayapalem mandal, said the government failed to put a plan in place to lift the paddy. The paddy was placed on thrashing floors and the farmers were worried over approaching rain. Paddy stocks for sale in some mandals were hit by unseasonal rain, he said.

“The government has no control on millers because it has a hidden deal with them in the lifting of paddy. The millers are cutting the price in the name of ‘tharam’ (a practice of reducing the price) twice – first in the field and later at the mill,” he said.

He said the government is not being mindful of the woes of the farmers who raised paddy for quality rice on the advice of the government. “Nobody including millers and other agencies is showing any interest in lifting the stocks.”

The Kisan Morcha president urged the government to lift all varieties of paddy. The Chief Minister should leave the farm house first and initiate efforts in lifting the paddy. “Farmers told me they will be thrown into the hands of moneylenders if the produce is not lifted on time or went waste due to rain.”