Vizianagaram: Lockdown norms relaxed for farmers

Vizianagaram: The state government has relaxed the lockdown norms for farmers. The farmers can work in their fields till 1 pm. In this regard, the government released a GO No 53 and directed all districts to follow the order.

Fertiliser and pesticide shops can remain open till 1 pm and while selling the products, they should enforce social distance rule for the customers. The lockdown norms are relaxed for transportation of agriculture produce like paddy, fruits, grains, vegetables, fishery and even farm equipment like harvesters and others.

Speaking on this issue, Collector M Hari Jawaharlal said, "We have 6,469 hectares of rabi paddy and we are expecting around 33,000 tonnes of paddy. We have maize in 19,120 hectares. We are opening 40 paddy purchasing centers for Kharif and nine centers for maize purchasing. We are taking utmost care for the horticulture crops like banana, mango, cashew and vegetables.

Our plan is to obstruct transportation of banana and others into our district from other districts to protect the interests of our farmers. We are going to purchase banana from the farmers and supply to other districts. Similarly, we are giving relaxation for aqua products like prawns, fish, crabs and others. The farmers can go to their fields and can work by maintaining social distance."

K Narasaiah, a farmer from Kurupam mandal said, "This is peak season for harvesting cashew seeds and the relaxation of lockdown for farmers like us is very helpful. We can go to our farms and can engage in farming. Anyhow, we are habituated to maintain social distance and now we can involve in farm works happily."