Paddy wastage can be prevented this way: Gangula Kamalakar
The State government has stepped up its efforts to convince the Centre and Food Corporation of India (FCI) to lift more boiled rice from Telangana to protect the interests of paddy farmers. The State has also sought more time for handing over custom milled rice (CMR) for 2020-21 Rabi (Yasangi) season.
After meeting Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday and secretary Sudhanshu Pandey on Thursday on the same issue, Minister for Civil Supplies Gangula Kamalakar met Chairman and Managing Director of FCI Atish Chandra on Friday to reiterate the State’s plea for lifting more boiled rice from Telangana, keeping in mind harsh weather conditions during the Rabi season.
Mr. Kamalakar explained to the FCI CMD that huge quantity of paddy would go waste in processing it as raw rice as it would end up in broken rice in a higher quantity due to the extreme temperatures during the Rabi season and result in huge loss. “By accepting boiled rice instead of raw rice for Rabi season, huge wastage can be prevented and will help meet the hunger needs,” he said.
Further, lifting higher quantity of boiled rice would also help in as a measure to double the farmers’ income planned by the Centre. At a time when the State Government was helping farmers in every possible way, it was the responsibility of the Centre to help the community by accepting rice milled from 80 lakh quintals of paddy for the last Rabi season and also extend the time for a month to give one-lakh quintals of CMR pertaining to that season.
Mr. Kamalakar also stated that Telangana had supplied higher quantity of boiled rice even when the paddy production was lesser and seeking higher quantity of CMR when the production of paddy was over one crore tonnes during the last Rabi season was nothing but abandoning farmers mid-sea. He pointed out that in the name of stock verification by FCI, Telangana could not supply one lakh tonnes of rice worth ₹300 crore during the last summer as the agency did not accept the supplies.
On procurement rice pertaining to the current Kharif (Vanakalam) season from Telangana, the Minister said that paddy was being cultivated in about 55 lakh acres and requested the FCI chairman to allow the State to procure at least 80 lakh tonnes of paddy.
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