CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss alleged that as many as 36,000 paddy bags brought to the Kumbakonam Railway Station for dispatch to rice mills in other districts have started sprouting in lorries after being exposed to continuous rain for the past 10 days.
Anbumani said that paddy bags procured by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) from farmers in and around Kumbakonam were transported to the railway station on October 16 to be sent to rice mills outside the district.
He alleged that despite the deterioration, authorities have not taken any action to transport the bags to their destinations. If the delay continues, the paddy will soon become unfit for milling, leading to significant financial loss.
"Before deciding to transport the paddy to rice mills, the government should have ensured the availability of adequate railway wagons and necessary facilities. If that was not possible, the paddy should have been safely stored in godowns or dispatched directly by lorries to the mills. Instead, by doing neither, the DMK government has caused wastage of paddy and must now pay wagon rent for over 11 days of delay. Is this what the DMK calls administrative efficiency?" he asked.