Minister for Food and Civil Supplies P. Venkataramanan inspecting the fire-ravaged Ainthamkattalai paddy procurement centre near Alangulam in Tenkasi district on Friday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGMENT
Minister for Food and Civil Supplies P. Venkataramanan inspected the fire-ravaged Ainthamkattalai paddy procurement centre near Alangulam in the district on Friday.As fire destroyed over 25,000 bags of paddy stocked in the open stock yard at Ainthamkattalai on Tuesday last, the minister, accompanied by District Collector Ranjeet Singh and the senior officials, visited the paddy procurement centre.Mr. Venkataramanan, after the inspection, said fire had broken out in the open stock yard of the paddy procurement centre, where thousands of paddy bags had been stocked under tarpaulin covers. Steps had been initiated to construct proper permanent structures in these open yards for storing the paddy being procured from the farmers, which would effectively avert fire accidents in future.“During this inspection, we found that the fire had broken out from the base of the bags first to spread to the top. The Civil Supplies CID police are investigating about this fire accident, which will find if it is an accident or conspiracy,” the minister said.He informed that all open stock yards had been provided with tarpaulin sheets to cover properly the paddy procured from the agriculturists and CCTV cameras fitted in the paddy procurement centres and the stock yards. Compound wall would be built around the stock yards to deny access to the outsiders.“The tarpaulins covering the paddy bags stocked in open areas are removed at regular intervals or whenever it is required and covered again to avert moisture beyond the permissible level of 17% in paddy. The quantum of paddy being procured from the farmers is updated online regularly to maintain regular and proper accounting,” he said.The minister also informed that dryers would be used to minimise the moisture content in paddy.Later he visited the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation godown in Alangulam, Government Higher Secondary School in Alangulam and a modern rice-mill at Paavoorchathram. Published - July 10, 2026 09:03 pm IST
