Drying paddy on roads turn into death traps for motorcyclists in Telangana’s Karimnagar

While three persons died, many were injured within a span of 10 days in such incidents

Karimnagar: The practice of drying paddy on roads is turning into a life threat for people moving on motorcycles, with many hitting paddy heaps without noticing them.

While three persons died, many were injured within a span of 10 days in such incidents in the erstwhile Karimnagar district. A 32-year-old person, Nerella Ranjith Kiran, died when the bike he was riding hit a paddy heap near Mallapur of Thimmapur mandal on Saturday night. A native of Mugdumpur, Ranjith met with the accident while returning from Mallapur along with his friend Sadij. While Ranjith died on the spot, Sadij sustained injuries.

Another youth died in a similar incident at Mallareddypet, Ghambiraopet mandal of Rajanna-Sircilla district on May 14. Sheik Khaleel and his friend Shekhar met with an accident while riding a bike from Lingannapet to Mallannapet. While Khaleel died on the spot, Shekhar sustained serious injuries.

Ten days ago, a couple, Sammi Reddy and Manemma, sustained serious injuries when the bike they were travelling on hit a paddy heap between Mamidalapalli and Pachunur. Though Sammi Reddy recovered from the injuries, Manemma died after four days while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Hyderabad.

In the latest incident, three persons Kancha Kumar, his wife Pavani and their son Raghava, sustained injuries when their motorcycle rammed a paddy heap near Valbapur of Veenavanka mandal on Sunday night.

Despite the police warning against drying paddy on the roads, farmers are drying the crop on roads in many places. Earlier, farmers used to engage labourers to harvest the crop and shift it to the market only after drying it in the field itself.

Nowadays, drying the crop has become a big problem since harvesters have been engaged to harvest the crop. It is not possible to dry paddy in the field if the crop was harvested with the help of harvesters, since the ground turns slushy.

With officials at paddy purchasing centres asking farmers to bring the crop to the centres only after drying, farmers are now searching for alternate places since a majority of them would not have adequate space in their houses. This roads have become an alternative source.

In some areas, farmers reserve roads well in advance by placing empty fertilizer bags as competition for drying paddy on roads has increased.