Kakinada: The Paddy Procurement app, introduced by the state government recently, has seriously hit the livelihood of the bullock cart workers and owners.
In the rural areas, the paddy used to be carried from the fields to rice mills or to the paddy purchasing centers by bullock carts. Nearly 10,000 bullock carts used to do this task. Now, if the transport charges are to be paid to the farmers or rice millers to carry the paddy from the field to the PPC, the vehicle number and truck number should be uploaded in the app. Then only will the app allow the paddy procurement.
There is no option of bullock carts in the app. As a result, the farmers and rice millers are engaging vehicles approved by the Rythu Bharosa Kendras and they gave up the use of the bullock carts.
Bullock cart owners staged a demonstration in front of the tahsildar’s office at Karapa in Kakinada district on Tuesday. They said that for the past several decades, they were using the bullock carts to carry paddy and other agricultural produce and earn a livelihood. Now, they have lost their livelihood.
They requested the state government to provide the facility to upload bullock cart details in the new app and ensure that they do not lose their livelihood.
Mandal special officer Adapa Venkatalakshmi promised them help to introduce and upload the bullock cart option as a transportation facility for carrying paddy.
