Palaniswami criticises DMK government over paddy procurement

AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday criticised the DMK government over paddy procurement.

In a statement, he alleged that the DMK government had not ensured adequate procurement of paddy and farmers in the delta were complaining that since the party came to power only 600 bags of paddy was being procured on a daily basis, and there was no adequate warehousing facility for the procured paddy. The farmers requested that the daily procurement be increased to 1,000 bags.

Mr. Palaniswami alleged that the AIADMK had warned several times that the paddy should be procured before the monsoon, but DMK government did not pay heed to it. “In the recent Assembly session, when a calling attention motion was moved on paddy procurement, Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R. Sakkarapani stated that up to 1,000 bags of paddy were being procured, but no steps were taken for the full procurement and storage of paddy,” he said.

Despite knowing about record paddy production, the State government did not take adequate measures. Not only farmers from delta districts but also those from other districts have expressed their concern, he said.

Mr. Palaniswami urged the government to take adequate measures for paddy procurement and warned it would face a massive protest in case of inaction.