HYDERABAD: Telangana’s Minister for Civil Supplies and Irrigation, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, has urged State Civil Supplies Corporation officials to implement robust measures for safeguarding paddy at procurement centers. His directive emphasizes the critical need to protect farmers’ harvests from potential losses, especially by using tarpaulin sheets to cover the produce.
This urgent appeal follows a review meeting held on Monday, prompted by forecasts of extensive rainfall expected from Cyclone Montha brewing in the Bay of Bengal. The Minister specifically instructed procurement center staff to ensure the swift and seamless transportation of all procured paddy to designated mills without any delay.
Highlighting the significant progress made, Reddy announced that out of 8,342 planned paddy procurement centers for the Kharif season, 4,428 are currently operational. To date, an impressive 1,80,452 tonnes of paddy, valued at ₹431.09 crore, has been successfully purchased from 22,433 farmers. This total includes 1,06,824 tonnes of high-quality ‘A Grade’ fine varieties.
Minister Reddy further tasked District Collectors, Joint Collectors, and Civil Supplies department officials with regular inspections of these centers. He issued a stern warning, affirming that the government would not tolerate any negligence that leads to losses for the farming community, underscoring the administration’s commitment to farmer welfare.