No paddy scarcity

Media reports baseless:

Only 17 pc paddy lands affected:

Suraj BANDARA

Media reports that over 60 percent of the total Maha paddy cultivation of the country was destroyed are baseless. Only 17 percent of the paddy lands were affected.

The Government has already stored 15 percent paddy from the total paddy requirement. There will be no price increase or paddy scarcity in the country due to floods, the report further said.

“The Agrarian and Wildlife Ministry responding to the recent print media report that Sri Lanka would face a month’s paddy shortage is beyond authenticity. This report has been published without any rhyme or reason and is totally baseless,” the Agrarian Ministry report states.

”This particular report had given extensive media coverage that 60 percent of the total Maha paddy production had been destroyed leaving the country facing a future paddy shortage.

Based on current estimates, close to 317,256 acres of paddy land which is 17 percent of the total Maha paddy cultivation in the country have been damaged due to the extreme weather condition prevailed in last few days in the country.

The Government is still assessing the total damage caused to the paddy lands in the country due to floods in several provinces including the Eastern and North Central Provinces, the National Development Media Centre states in a press release said.

Based on the estimates received pertaining to the damage, over 400,699,25 acreages have been inundated by water. In last Maha season it is reported that over 1,787,305 acreages had been cultivated.