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Chennai, October 22 (IANS) AIADMK general secretary and opposition leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday assured farmers of the delta region of Tamil Nadu that he would take up their grievances regarding paddy procurement with the state government.
During his visit to the Direct Procurement Center (DPC) at Kattur near Thanjavur, Palaniswami interacted with several farmers and expressed solidarity with their concerns.
He said, “I am aware of the problems of the farmers of Delta because I am also a farmer.” He said that the ongoing delay in procurement has put many farmers in trouble.
The AIADMK leader claimed that the harvested paddy, which was awaiting procurement, had started sprouting due to incessant rains and lack of storage.
“Farmers in the delta are crying. The government is deceiving them by claiming in the Assembly that 2,000 bags of paddy are being procured every day, while the reality is that not even 800 bags are being procured,” he alleged.
Palaniswami urged the state to expedite procurement operations and ensure timely payments to farmers. He also highlighted that inefficiencies in the procurement process could cause serious losses to farmers who are completely dependent on the paddy crop for livelihood.
Later in the day, the opposition leader visited several other DPCs in Orathanadu area of Thanjavur district and Mannargudi area of Tiruvarur district.
He also interacted with the farmers there and collected their petitions and complaints to hand over to the government.
Responding to his remarks, Food Minister R. Sakkarapani, who inspected the paddy storage warehouse at Pillaiyarpatti on the outskirts of Thanjavur, rejected the opposition leader’s allegations.
“What more can be expected from the opposition party,” he remarked, adding that the government has taken several steps to increase storage and procurement efficiency in the delta region.
Sakkarapani said that around 1,000 bags of paddy are being procured every day in the DPC and the procurement process is going on smoothly. He further assured that additional storage capacity is being created to handle the paddy coming from farmers during the peak crop season.
–IANS
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