Koraput admn to open mandis for paddy procurement soon | Bhubaneswar News
Koraput: The Koraput administration is planning to make mandis operational within the next two to three days, provided weather conditions remain favourable, for procurement of paddy, officials said. Earlier it had decided to open the paddy procurement centres (mandis) for the rabi marketing season (RMS)-2024 from May 25.This time, procurement is being done at the state level and millers from outside the district are also participating in the process. “All necessary infrastructures have been put in place, and we expect to open mandis in the next few days,” said Koraput collector Keerthi Vasan V.“At least 35 millers from Kalahandi district have expressed interest to participate in the procurement process, and more millers from neighbouring districts are likely to join soon,” the collector added.Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) Ltd has arranged custom millers from outside the district to step in after the Koraput District Rice Millers Association cited storage issues and declined to participate in paddy procurement. Association president Tripati Rao stated that godowns are overflowing due to delays in lifting rice procured during the kharif marketing season (KMS) 2024-25.Farmers, concerned by the delay in paddy procurment, have urged the administration to extend mandi operations. “We request the administration to expedite the procurement process. The monsoon has arrived, and it is difficult for farmers to store harvested crops,” said Abhinash Padhi, a farmer from Kaliagaon.The district has been given a target to procure 56,644 metric tonnes of paddy. Of the total, 58 mandis are planned for Jeypore sub-division, with the remainder to be established in Koraput sub-division.Koraput’s chief civil supplies officer, Pradeep Kumar Panda, assured that all precautionary measures have been taken to prevent inconvenience to farmers. “Mandis will remain open until the target is met,” he said.Around 1,69,789 farmers have registered to sell their produce this season. Authorities have instructed them to bring only fair average quality (FAQ) paddy to the procurement centres.
