Representational image only. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Incessant rains caused untold miseries for paddy farmers with the lack of storage facilities for the crops in Vizianagaram district. Thousands of farmers are in distress with the financial loss owing to the damage to the standing crop with the change in its colour. The district received 2698 mm rainfall, across all the 27 mandals, as against the normal rainfall 99 mm in the last three days.

Untimely, rains and inclement weather forced the farmers to keep the crop in fields with the absence of storage facility. A majority of them don’t have even quality tarpaulins to protect the grains near the fields.

Rythu Coolie Sangham of Andhra Pradesh State Secretary Dantuluri Varma alleged that the government authorities had failed to instill confidence among the farmers who were worried over protection of the grains kept in field after completion of cutting process. He said the labourers would also be in trouble as the farmers would not be in a position to clear the wage dues with the delay in selling of paddy crop to the government authorities. He asked the government to buy the crops in the fields so that there would not be further damage to the paddy.

The district farmers produced nearly 2.10 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this year. The government claimed that it had already bought 1.83 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. Collector B.R. Ambedkar said the agriculture officials were directed to meet farmers and explain about the techniques for the protection of the standing crop. He said 1,600 tarpaulins were supplied to nearly 800 farmers while promising to buy the 22,502 metric tonnes of left over paddy from farmers within a few days by offering Minimum Support Price (MSP).