Paddy procurement set to resume as rice millers' bank guarantee cut from ₹2.50 crore to ₹1.70 crore; rain damages up to 25% of crop

At a meeting in Dehradun between the food minister and state office-bearers of the rice millers' association, it was agreed to cut the bank guarantee required of rice millers from ₹2.50 crore to ₹1.70 crore. Millers can now start buying paddy. Because they had stayed away from procurement, farmers in the district were left waiting at purchase centres. In Bajpur, buying had not run smoothly even eight days after government centres opened; a meeting of farmers and commission agents (kachcha arhtiyas) there decided that buying through the agents will start on October 12. Millers cited the bank guarantee and a shortage of godown space as hurdles. Meanwhile, rain and strong winds have damaged 20 to 25 per cent of the harvest-ready paddy in Kashipur and the Terai, and farmers have demanded a survey and compensation. (Source: Hindustan)