Ancient grain storage tradition Paathara/Khoni fading in Srikakulam district

Key facts

• Paathara (Odia: Khoni) is an ancestral underground grain storage pit once common along the Mahendratanaya River banks in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh.
• The pit is rectangular, plastered with straw and clay, sealed with cow-dung, and mainly stores paddy for household consumption and rituals.
• In Jalantara Saasanam village (Kanchili Mandal) only two Paatharas were built this year: one by Marla Dillemma and one by Juttu Moinamma.
• NABARD sanctioned ₹9.75 crore in August 2015 under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund to improve the Pydigam irrigation channel system covering 4,984 acres.
• Indian Grain Storage Management and Research Institute (IGMRI) estimates nearly 10% of food grains are lost annually due to unscientific storage, costing about ₹7,000 crore, with insects alone causing ₹1,300 crore damages (2026 estimates).