The Communist Party of India, Ammapettai Union, has urged the district administration to intervene and fix a moderate amount as charges for hiring paddy harvesting machines to carry out harvesting of ‘kuruvai’ paddy.
Claiming that private owners were charging a flat rate of ₹2,500 per hour, Union Secretary, CPI Ammapettai Union, R. Senthilkumar in a memorandum addressed to the district administration has said that the farmers who have already taken up ‘kuruvai’ under severe financial stress were burdened further by the overcharging by private harvester machine owners.
He also pleaded with the district administration to ensure quick and smooth procurement of ‘kuruvai’ paddy through the direct purchase centres (DPCs) as tonnes of harvested paddy were lying in the open near the DPCs and were exposed to the vagaries of nature. At some places the harvested paddy have started sprouting after getting drenched in recent rains, he added.
Further, the crop ready for harvest were also affected in the recent rains as farmers were unable to carry on the harvest in view of overcharging by private harvester machine owners.
Meanwhile, farmers in Ganapathi Agraharam in Papanasam taluk have alleged that more than 2,000 bags of paddy were lying in the open near the DPC and the farmers were finding it tough to save the paddy from rain.
