Heavy rain damages paddy at procurement centres in Sangareddy

Heavy rain and strong winds caused extensive damage to paddy stored at procurement centres across the erstwhile Medak district. Farmers staged protests blaming delayed procurement by the government, while uprooted trees and electric poles disrupted traffic and power supply in several areas

Sangareddy: Rains coupled with gales lashed several parts of the erstwhile Medak district on Tuesday night, causing huge losses to farmers who kept their paddy at procurement centres. The harvested paddy was swept away by floodwater at several places even though the farmers woke up at midnight to save the harvest by covering it with tarpaulins.

The farmers, who woke up early in the morning, were inconsolable as the paddy was completely soaked in water. At places where the grains were swept away by floodwater, the farmers tried to salvage them. Holding the ruling Congress responsible for their struggles, the farmers took to the roads at several places and staged rasta-rokos and dharnas.

The farmers accused the government of delaying procurement, resulting in huge losses to them. The farmers demanded that the government complete the procurement process on a war footing and also procure the wet paddy at MSP. Meanwhile, several streams came alive across the erstwhile Medak district, particularly in Sangareddy. Temperatures also came down at several places due to overnight showers.

Hathnoora mandal in Sangareddy received 105 mm rainfall while all mandals in the district received rain. The district recorded an average rainfall of 34 mm during the past 24 hours till 8.30 am on Wednesday. Officials visited procurement centres in all three districts, assuring farmers that the paddy would be procured before the onset of the monsoon. However, the farmers argued with them as they had lost confidence in the government machinery.

Standing mango and vegetable crops, along with other crops, were also damaged due to strong winds. Trees and electric poles were uprooted, disrupting traffic flow and power supply at several places.