Unseasonal rainfall in Bargarh district on Thursday soaked tons of paddy lying in the open to be lifted by millers at Barikel mandi in the Padampur sub-division.
As per reports, thousands of packets of paddy were kept by several farmers at Barikel mandi for procurement. Despite paddy packets being tagged, the mandis are yet to open and millers are yet to lift the paddy.
When unseasonal rain lashed the area last night, all the paddy packets kept at the Barikel mandi got wet. It was alleged that the farmers were not provided anything by the authorities to cover their produce while waiting for the lifting of their paddy.
“The RMC did not provide us any polythene to cover our paddy. We arranged polythene sheets ourselves and covered it. But it was too late and we lost a lot of paddy to rain,” said a farmer Dharmendra Saha.
“Now as the paddy is drenched in rain, a lot of it would start germinating. The millers are intentionally arriving late. They are already deducting 2kgs of paddy in katni chhatni. When they will see germinated paddy, they will make katni chhatni to the tune of 6-8 kg. We will be in heavy loss,” he added.
Similarly, another farmer Deepak Sahu said, “Approximately 20,000 packets of paddy have been washed away in the rain. No officials from the RMC helped us keep our produce safe from rain. No millers are in sight. They are making inordinate delays in lifting our paddy. We have already suffered losses for this unseasonal rain. Any more delay and we will be forced to sleep hungry.”
No comments have been received from the concerned authorities.