Farmers need not worry, government will buy wet paddy from farmers: Telangana CM

The Telangana government will buy paddy soaked due to recent rains and farmers need not worry about it, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said on Wednesday.

Rao, who held a review meeting on rice procurement, asked officials about arthritis bags, transportation and other aspects of the problem, an official statement said.

The Chief Minister directed that the monsoon season is approaching to speed up the collection of paddy.

Officials informed the Chief Minister that a target of 5.6 million metric tonnes of paddy has been set. They said that 2 million metric tons have been collected so far.

Due to unseasonal rains in some parts of the state, the harvested paddy is getting wet and due care should be taken, Rao said, adding that the state government would procure wet paddy till the last crop irrespective of the cost.

Rao reiterated that the state government would buy cooked rice from farmers without worrying about the cost and whether the Center had bought grain, the statement said.

The opposition Congress has attacked the TRS government for putting paddy farmers in a difficult position by not completing the paddy harvest quickly against the backdrop of rains.