KARIMNAGAR: A day after two Collectors courted controversies with their statements over paddy cultivation and vaccination, Karimnagar Collector RV Karnan, who is also the district election officer with the bypoll around the corner, appeared very circumspect so as to avoid getting caught between the devil and the deep sea.RV Karnan, on Wednesday, said that the farmers were free to raise paddy or commercial crops, according to their wish, for Yasangi.
The Collector passed these remarks while holding a meeting under the aegis of the Agriculture Department to create awareness on the cultivation of paddy and alternative crops, at the collectorate auditorium here.
It may be recalled that even as Siddipet Collector P Venkatram Reddy sent out a warning to dealers that he would have their shops sealed if they were found selling paddy seeds to farmers, Jogulamba-Gadwal Collector Valluri Kranthi, in a tweet, said that no Aasara pension or ration would be provided to those who do not take the Covid-19 vaccine. In the meantime, private seed companies and seed corporations have informed farmers who contacted them that there was no restriction on procuring paddy seeds. Ryots can grow paddy in both waterlogged and dry soils.
Speaking on the occasion, Karnan pointed out that the farmers can earn good profits by cultivating black gram, peanuts, green gram and millets, apart from oilseeds such as groundnut, sesame and mustard, which are suitable for Rabi season.The seeds required for the cultivation of these crops have reportedly been made available at the seed corporations and the warehouses of authorised dealers.
The Collector also urged the companies concerned to ramp up the production of seeds during the Rabi season. He mentioned that they can produce both hybrid and normal varieties of paddy, which would help get good yield.As many as 168 rice mills have been set up in the district to procure superfine variety of paddy from farmers. For Kharif season, about 351 paddy procurement centres have been set up across the district.