Hyderabad: A man who was in charge of a procurement centre in Nalgonda attempted suicide on Wednesday, April 29, accusing the Telangana government of not purchasing paddy.
In a video shared on social media, the man, identified as Saidulu, claimed that the government officials refused to purchase paddy from him. “Many of the trucks being dispatched from my procurement centre are being halted by authorities who claim that the documents related to the paddy bags are incorrect. This has been a recurring issue,” said Saidulu.
Saidulu said that the behaviour of the officials has pushed him to take the extreme step, adding that farmers are also being harassed by the authorities. “I am exhausted due to constant pressure, and I am drinking poison now,” the in charge said before attempting to take his life.
After consuming the poison, Saidulu was shifted to the Government General Hospital in Nalgonda, where he is receiving treatment.
Speaking to Siasat.com, an official of the Kangal Mandal Police confirmed that Saidulu is currently under treatment. Following the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Pilli Ramaraju and former Nalgonda MLA Bhupal Reddy visited Saidulu at the hospital.
Telangana govt ready to procure 90 lakh MT of paddy, says Uttam Kumar
The suicide attempt comes days after Telangana Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the government is ready to procure 90 lakh metric tonne of paddy.
Chairing a high-level review meeting at the Dr BR Ambedkar Secretariat in Hyderabad, Reddy said paddy procurement has already commenced in 20 districts as grain has begun arriving at centres, while the process is yet to begin in the remaining 13 districts owing to delayed sowing.
“Since paddy production has risen to record levels after the Congress government came to power, we are ready to procure at a scale never seen before,” he told officials.
The minister said the government has decided to set up 8,500 procurement centres across the state, of which 5,000 are already operational. So far, 4.89 lakh metric tonne of paddy have been procured, he added.
Reddy said warehouses with a storage capacity of 12 lakh metric tonne have been identified, and district-wise allocations have been made to store an additional 20 lakh metric tonnes of boiled rice. He added that 16 crore gunny bags have been made available at procurement centres statewide.
The minister directed officials to install paddy cleaners and dryers at centres for quick moisture testing, deploy sufficient labourers to avoid delays and ensure error-free weighing. He also called for strengthening transportation arrangements to move procured paddy to mills without delay.
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