Paddy trucks from Andhra denied entry into Telangana

Hyderabad, April 15:  With authorities in Telangana commencing paddy procurement from farmers, trucks with paddy coming from Andhra Pradesh were denied entry into the state on Friday.

Several paddy-laden trucks were stopped at the checkposts on the inter-state border.

Trucks were seen queued up at Dachepalli checkpost in Palnadu district as they were denied entry. The truck drivers said they were stopped though they have all the relevant documents for transport of paddy.

Telangana officials told the truck drivers that they will not be allowed till procurement of paddy from local farmers is completed.

Truck drivers said they had no prior information and this was causing them severe inconvenience.

The officials have made it clear that paddy being brought from Andhra Pradesh will not be procured in Telangana.

Amid a stand-off with the Centre, the Telangana Cabinet on Tuesday decided to procure paddy from farmers during the ongoing Rabi season. Procurement centres have been opened in several villages over the last two days.

Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar has already stated that 51 checkposts have been set up on the border to stop paddy-laden trucks from entering the state.

With the Centre refusing to procure paddy from Telangana farmers and insisting on raw rice, the state government on Tuesday decided to procure paddy from farmers.

The decision was taken a day after Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao, who had led a protest in Delhi on Monday demanding the Centre to procure the entire paddy.

The government will pay Rs 1,960 for every quintal of paddy. The money will be directly credited to the bank accounts of farmers.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, appealed to farmers not to sell the paddy at less than Minimum Support Price (MSP). He assured farmers that the state government will procure every grain though it may suffer a loss of Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,500 crore.

During Rabi season, paddy cultivation was taken up in Telangana on 35.84 lakh acres, the highest in the country. Andhra Pradesh stands at distant second at 16.68 lakh acre. Estimated paddy production in Telangana during the season is 83.83 lakh tonnes.