Rain fury: AP govt procures 4.75 lakh MT of grain

Amaravati: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the officials to fully support the farmers who have suffered losses due to untimely rains in the state.

During a review meeting, the officials briefed the Chief Minister about the basic details of crop damage due to rains. After going through the details, the Chief Minister said that there should not be any complaint from the crop loss farmers over receiving the compensation and purchase of grains during the Rabi season.

“Steps should be taken by the officials in purchasing the discolored paddy from the farmers in a full-fledged manner, besides speeding up the process of purchasing the grains in the Rabi season. Officials should also continuously gather details from the village secretariats regarding the crops and other damages caused to the farmers due to untimely rains,” he said.

The Chief Minister said after the completion of the enumeration process officials should put the lists of the affected farmers in the village secretariats for social inspection. This will be useful to bring to the attention of the officials immediately if any farmer is left behind.

A toll-free number should be kept by the officials for the convenience of the farmers to complain if they face any problems and they should be rectified timely.

During the course of the meeting, the Chief Minister also cautioned the officials to be vigilant in the rain-affected areas by bringing the details about the weather conditions in the coming days as well. The officials explained to the Chief Minister about the other measures taken to help the farmers and the process of purchasing grains is going ahead fast.

Officials further said that they have already purchased more than 4.75 lakh metric tons of grain and instructions are being given to farmers on the procedures to be followed in unharvested areas. Farmers are also being made aware of procedures like sprinkling salt solution in wet areas where crops are harvested.

The officials also informed the Chief Minister that an agronomist is available for each district and steps are being taken to educate the farmers through the local authorities. Grain stocks at various purchase centers, RBKs, and farmers are being safely shifted to government buildings and godowns.

Steps are also being taken to purchase maize through Markfed. Control rooms have been opened in every district and all the machinery is available.