Minister P. Venkataramanan inspected paddy procurement centres
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu: Food and Food Supplies Minister P. Venkataramanan on Thursday inspected the government direct paddy procurement centers located at Umayyaparnacherry and Vadakkadpattu. During this, he took a detailed review of the arrangements of paddy procurement centers running in Umayyalparnacherry and Vadakkadpattu areas under Kundrathur Union and interacted directly with the farmers present there.
During the inspection, the Minister took information about the paddy procurement process, timing of procurement, problems faced in loading and unloading of paddy bundles from the warehouse, facilities available, stock of bags, operation of moisture checking machines, arrival records of paddy and the process of documents like Chitta-Adangal. He also received feedback from the farmers about the activities of the staff deployed at the centres.
Farmers presented their problems and suggestions before the minister. He said that at many places there is delay in the paddy procurement process and problems also arise during loading and unloading. Apart from this, sometimes it takes more time to deliver paddy to the warehouse, which causes inconvenience to the farmers.
During the inspection, it also came to light that the laborers working at these paddy procurement centers have been brought from Delta districts. Also, the Minister found that at some centres, necessary notification boxes, information boards (billboards) and quality inspection equipment are not being properly maintained, which may affect transparency and order.
Farmers demanded from the minister to increase the basic facilities in paddy procurement centres. He appealed to provide essential facilities like perimeter wall, barbed wire, safe walkway, drinking water facility and toilets. Farmers said that due to lack of these facilities, they face a lot of difficulties in their daily work.
Minister P. Venkataramanan listened seriously to the problems of the farmers and assured to give necessary instructions to the officials. He said that the government is giving priority to the interests of farmers and all necessary steps will be taken to make the paddy procurement process more transparent and simple.
He also said that the lack of facilities in paddy procurement centers will be removed soon and the system will be strengthened to ensure that farmers do not face any kind of problem. During the inspection, the Minister directed the officials to ensure regular maintenance of essential equipment at all the centers and there should not be any delay in the procurement process.
This inspection is being considered an important step towards improving the agriculture and food supply system of the state government. Listening directly to farmers’ suggestions and problems will help the government understand the ground situation and enable future policy reforms.
