Increase storage capacity of procurement centres, says PMK's Ramadoss

CHENNAI: Saying that more than 12,000 bags of paddy went waste on Wednesday due to summer rains in Gingee in Villupuram, PMK founder S Ramadoss urged the government to increase the storage capacity of regulatory markets in the State.

In a statement, the senior leader said that the paddy bags were damaged due to the failure of authorities to safeguard them during the rains.

"But the officials claim that only 4,500 bags have been damaged. These paddy bags belonged to the farmers. If they have been stored properly, they could have been saved. Regulatory markets are created to safekeep the paddy bags brought by the farmers, but bags purchased by traders only are kept inside in several places, " he alleged.

He added that the officials try to under-estimate the number of affected paddy bags to cover up their fault.

"Regulatory markets have been created to store paddy from farmers. But, traders encroach the market. Government should conduct an investigation into the encroachment by traders inside the regulatory markets. Actions should be taken against the officials involved in the misconduct, " he demanded.

Ramadoss also urged the state government to increase the capacity of direct procurement centres across the state to store 10,000 paddy bags at once.

"Also, procured paddy should be sent to mills on the very next day, " he said.