Distress sale by ryots pushes them into debt

Sangareddy: Contrary to the state government’s tall claims of depositing the sales proceeds in farmers’ bank accounts within 72 hours of the transaction, there were no signs of depositing the money in the accounts even one month after the sale.

As a result, the farmers are feeling pinched to meet the family expenses, especially family occasions like marriages. The creditors are doing rounds to the farmers’ houses to recover the dues. Moreover, the farmers have no alternative to resort to borrowing money to meet farm expenses pending settlement of their dues.

This was the case of red gram farmers who disposed of their produce at the purchasing centers run by the Markfed. Though the sale was brisk, the remittance was no math to the sale.

The Markfed opened purchasing centers at Manuru, Narayanakhed, Kangti, Raikod, Vatpalli, Zaheerabad, Tellapur, Hotike, Sadasivapeta, Nyalkal and Jharasangam. As the MSP in Telangana was higher compared to that of Karnataka, middlemen from that state brought red gram to the purchasing centers forcing the authorities to close down six of them.

Over 2.33 lakh tons of red gram worth Rs 127.12 crore was lifted at the purchasing centers. However, only Rs 9.21 crore was credited into farmers’ bank accounts.