On the second day of the procurement drive also not a single grain of paddy crop reached for sale even as Mandi officials, equipped with money, gunny sacs as well as measurement tools, kept waiting throughout the day. The reason behind this abysmal failure is assigned as unplanned strategy and lack of proper knowledge of paddy harvesting to those who finalised the strategy to execute this mega exercise.
Notably, the State Government has decided to procure paddy on minimum support price in the state and the task of which has been assigned to State Marketing Federation. However, officials of the agency announced purchasing schedule from October 21 without considering the fact that in major parts of the state paddy crop was not ready for the harvest as even after ripening of the grain it takes at least a fortnight in cutting, harvesting and other processes before it reaches the procurement centre for sale. In all the seven districts of Bastar, paddy crop is far from ripening of the grain and hence it will take one month to reach Mandi.
Meanwhile, in adherence to the official schedule procurement centre officials equipped with money, sacs and measurement tools kept waiting for the second day as not a single grain of paddy arrived at any place out of the 254 procurement centres have been set up under the division. Officials formally started the procurement by performing puja of measuring tools.
According to divisional in-charge of paddy procurement centres and Marketing Officer of District Cooperative Bank R B Singh till 5.30 pm Saturday there was no information of paddy arrival on any procurement centre of the division.Meanwhile, the procurement centres have been asked not to procure paddy having extra moisture content. All the procurement centres have been provided moisture measuring instrument with strict instructions not to purchase paddy having 17 FAQ of moisture content, Singh informed.