It has been almost a week that paddy farmers are awaiting payment against their produce that has been purchased by government agencies. The government had announced to release payment within 48 hours of the purchase. The official purchase of paddy had begun on October 2. So far, 11,000-tonne paddy has arrived in the grain market here and 10,413 tonne has been purchased. While various government agencies procured 9,718-tonne paddy, private traders bought 695 tonne. The remaining 587 tonne is lying unsold in the market. The government should honour its word and release the payment within 48 hours as farmers are already under stress due to rising input cost and other reasons.