There are no takers of Manipur paddies these days. Last year around this time one kg of paddy could fetch Rs 28. Now the price simply refuses to shoot up. It is available at very cheap rate. In anticipation of impending rice scarcity huge quantity of paddies were piled up for sale at exorbitant rate. But the turn of incident, which is favourable to the poor consumer has left the middle class people who had huge quantity of rice packed in their barns in quagmire. They have started looking for a way to sell away the paddies. But none comes to buy the paddies in their barns. One finds poster like “rice available” adorning too many gates at different areas. If nobody comes for buying Manipur paddies will the price of paddies come down to the level of superfine rice? It is really perplexing there is no market for Manipur paddies these days rich farmers say. A particular candidate could win election by distributing 1000 phoubots, free of cost to his voters. One phoubot is equivalent to 72 kgs of rice. Such man will not come out this year because the election is still farther away. Last year they could invest in paddy cultivation by selling paddies in stock at exorbitant rate. What they did not know perhaps was the fact that the inundation of rice at FCI godown and availability of the same at cheaper rate has discouraged the people in the state to eat costly Manipuri rice. Moreover businessmen mix up Manipuri rice with superfine rice and sell it under the name of Manipuri rice to the gullible buyers. Consumers do not want to be fooled again so they have switched over to rice brought from outside.
Whatever the case may be the present scenario indicates abundance of food stock. Manipur had witnessed in the past eruption of war against food scarcity. Women led the war. Then there was also agitation launched by students against food scarcity, which is being observed as hunger marchers’ day. Such kind of kind agitation will not happen again in the near future also. The talk is about abundant food stock. Of FCS and FCI godowns being deluged with rice brought from outside the state. Trucks filled with rice make labyrinthine queue at Sangaiparou to empty the sacks of rice in the vehicle. This is a change brought by time. All these are related with the ambitious tasks initiated by the Government to end famine. Credit purely goes to the planners, who work keeping in view the poor people. They know poor men and women cannot afford to buy costly items. Middle class people who have shown the tendency to pile up paddies for sale at exorbitant rate should learn a lesson from what has happened now. Stop this habit. Do not pile up anything more than required. Moreover paddies put in the barn end up being eaten by mice. Feeding humans is better than feeding mice. Be happy. Famine will be erased from the Indian dictionary as desired by the newly elected President of India, Pranab Kumar Mukherjee.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/paddies-too-cheap/
