Costly paddy dryers lay unused

Metro India News | MAHABUBABAD : Mobile paddy dryers worth lakhs of rupees, supplied to agricultural market committees across Telangana, have remained unused for over a year, drawing criticism from farmers who allege that the machines were distributed without considering local needs and ground realities.

The Civil Supplies Corporation reportedly supplied the dryers, each costing around Rs 14 lakh, to various agricultural markets in June last year in lieu of paying the one per cent market fee collected during paddy procurement. However, the machines have failed to serve their intended purpose, with several lying abandoned in market premises, exposed to sun and rain.

The dryers are designed to reduce moisture content in paddy, particularly during the rainy season, enabling farmers to sell their produce without delay. However, operating the machine involves additional expenditure, with farmers required to spend around Rs 1,500 on diesel to dry nearly two tonnes of paddy.

Farmers say the machines are impractical under local conditions. Instead of transporting harvested paddy to the market and paying for artificial drying, they prefer to dry the crop naturally in their fields at no extra cost. As a result, there has been little interest in using the mobile dryers.

The paddy dryer allotted to the Kesamudram Agricultural Market has reportedly not been used even once since it was installed. Similar complaints have emerged from Kodakandla market in Jangaon district and several other agricultural markets across the state, where the costly equipment remains idle.

Farmers have alleged that officials failed to assess local agricultural practices before distributing the machines, resulting in the misuse of public funds. They said equipment better suited to local requirements should have been provided instead of imposing technology that does not address farmers' needs.

Kesamudram Market In-charge Secretary Rajendra Prasad clarified that the market committee did not purchase the dryer. He said it was supplied by the Civil Supplies Corporation in place of the market fee payable to the committee. He also acknowledged that farmers have shown little interest in using the machine, making it difficult for the market to put the dryer into regular use.

Farmers have urged the government to withdraw the unused dryers and replace them with equipment that is more practical and beneficial for local farming conditions.