Nizamabad: Bad weather puts farmers' hopes at stake

Nizamabad: Days after a farmer's death due to massive heart attack at a paddy procurement centre in Lingampeta mandal, unseasonal rains have become a matter of concern for farmers in Nizamabad Kamareddy district, especially for paddy, cotton and turmeric vegetable growers. Uncertainty is growing among them with whirlwind warnings in the Bay of Bengal. Farmer Beeraiah's death has created a political storm.

It is to mention here that the farmer identified as Mamidi Beeraiah(55) from Ailapur village visited the paddy procurement centre10 days ago to sell paddy. It is believed that his token was 70 and he had to wait there for his turn. He reportedly took rest during nights at the centre itself despite a chill in air. He slept there for seven nights in severe cold and two nights even in rain waiting patiently for his turn. Unfortunately, he breathed his last due to massive cardiac arrest on November 5th morning.

Now the farmers waiting at the paddy purchasing centres fear due to adverse weather conditions and snow falling by which the agriculture yields quality standards may reduce and farmers may not even get the minimum price. They are praying to god to avert the threat of rain in Nizamabad-Kamareddy district due to cyclone effect. If it rains, thousands of acres of harvested paddy will be submerged and the grain discoloration will be irreparably damaged. Nizamabad district alone produced ten lakh metric tonnes of paddy. Of this, only 11 per cent was purchased at AMC, PACS, IKP government-established centres. About 66 per cent of the harvested paddy came for sale and was piled up at the respective centres. 23% of late sown paddy is standing crop on farm fields. Affected farmers receive minimal assistance from the government. It recently rained for three days before Diwali. This created a cold, icy climate. Farmers stay for days at grain purchasing centres and suffer from adverse weather conditions. Currently, 37,000 acres of paddy standing crop, 53000 acres tumeric, Cotton, Vegetable, Onions and other crops is to be harvested in Kamareddy and Nizamabad districts.

On Tuesday, low pressure formed in the Bay of Bengal and turned into an air bubble. Those who have been cultivating paddy lately will have to lose thousands of acres of paddy land if it heavily rains during this time. Growers are deeply concerned about the risk of low yields of five to ten bags per acre due to the formation of stalks. Tumeric is likely to be destroyed by high water levels. Vegetables, Cotton and other crops are at a loss if it rains now.