Paddy procurement was hit in Odisha's Ganjam district due to the ongoing unseasonal rain caused by the well marked low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
"Paddy procurement was halted due to rains since Tuesday following the direction of the government," said district civil supply officer Ganjam Nilakantha Mohanty.
The government has decided to stall the procurement process as the farmers and millers might face trouble during transport from mandis due to inclement weather.
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It instructed the regulated marketing committees (RMC) to supply polythene sheets to primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) to cover the paddy bags lying in the mandis, he said.
"We have already supplied one polythene sheet to each PACS to cover the paddy lying in mandis," said Pramod Kumar Panda, secretary of Digapahandi RMC.
There was, however, no instruction to supply polythene sheets to individual farmers to cover paddy lying in their threshing yards after harvesting.
Rushikulya Rait Mahasabha, a farmers' organization, has demanded supply of polythene sheets to every farmer in the district to cover their produce.
"The harvested paddy lying in the yards for final processing will be damaged if it is not saved from rain. The government should supply polythene sheets to each farmer to save their produce," said Simanchal Nahak, convener of the Mahasabha.
There are chances of damage to harvested crops lying in the yards if the rain continues for two more days, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Ganjam, Sundarshan Mohanty said adding there was no standing paddy crop as harvesting was over.
The rain would, however, help standing crops of pulses like green and black grams and ground nuts, he added.
