Farmers burn paddy over 20-day delay in procurement

MEDAK : Upset over officials delaying the procurement of their paddy produce by nearly 20 days, 30 farmers burnt their paddy at Regode mandal headquarters on Saturday. In the light of their protest, officials have promised to clear the stock in three days’ time.

Around 20 days ago, the farmers had brought their produce to a purchasing centre set up by the primary co-operative society at Regode mandal headquarters. The society officials, however, were only purchasing paddy from a few farmers who had brought large quantities of produce, which were easier to transport. As they did not have gunny bags on them, the officials couldn’t purchase paddy in small quantities. Apart from this, there was also a shortage of warehouses to store the paddy and of vehicles to transport the produce. 

The farmers, who had been waiting for the past 20 days, finally lost patience on Saturday. They staged a rasta roko, piled up grains on the road and set them on fire. The farmers said that they had burnt only a portion of their paddy, and that if there was no change in the attitude of the officials, they would  burn all of their produce. Later, the society officials appealed to the farmers to end their protest.