Farmers demand setting up of DPC at Sikkal
by Staff ReporterRAMANATHAPURAM
A section of farmers from Sikkal in Kadaladi union submitted a petition to Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao demanding that a direct purchase centre be opened in the area.
They said that farmers in and around Sikkal are forced to sell the paddy produce to private buyers as the government has not opened a DPC there. None of the other nearby DPC was functioning either, they said.
“After Tiruvadanai which is the rice bowl of Ramanathapuram district, Sikkal is the next big paddy producing pocket. This year, augmented by the good monsoons, the paddy yield has been overwhelming. Paddy is raised on over 1200 ha on tank irrigation. The total expanse of paddy cultivation will cross 2000 ha in the area and other crops such as cotton and chilli are raised on 1000 ha,” said MSK. Backia Nathan, president of Sikkal Vivasayigal Sangam.
He complained that the DPC inside the campus of the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society has not been functioning this year.
“Private buyers pack 66 kg of paddy per sack and offer only half the price the government offers which is ₹ 1905 per quintal. About 20 varieties of samba paddy are grown in the belt and if the purchase centre is opened, it will benefit farmers in about 80 villages around Sikkal,” he added.
He alleged that out of the 16 DPCs in the district, the government claims that 13 are functioning while in reality, not even half of them is open.