Paddy procurement centres to be set up in seven districts.

Owing to crash in paddy prices following hailstorm and heavy rain, the government has decided to open procurement centres in seven districts.

They will be opened at Davangere, Shivamogga, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari, Yadgir, and Kalaburagi to procure the commodity at Rs. 1,360 a quintal. Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs T.B. Jayachandra told presspersons that the summer paddy crop was damaged owing to hailstorm and strong winds. The crop planted in more than a lakh hectare was damaged in April and May. A sum of Rs. 216.35 crore has already been released to the Deputy Commissioners for payment of compensation to farmers. The compensation amount had been fixed at Rs. 25,000 per hectare, he said. Mr. Jayachandra said a team from the Centre would visit the State soon to assess the damage to agricultural and horticultural crops. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had urged the Centre to permit the State to establish procurement centres, he said.

Hindu