CM Should Help Farmers On War Footing Basis: Uttam

Hyderabad, November 12 (Maxim News): Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President & MP Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday demanded that the State Government take measures on war footing to help the farmers who lost their crops due to multiple factors including heavy rains, floods, pests and diseases. He also urged Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao to fulfill the promise of waiving off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh in a single take.

Addressing the Rhythu Deeksha program in Nalgonda, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Regulated Cropping system, forcibly imposed by CM KCR, proved disastrous for thousands of farmers who cultivated superfine varieties of paddy, instead of regular varieties. He said that the cultivation of ‘sanna rakala vadlu‘ not only involved higher investment compared to regular varieties, the overall yield was less than two-third of original quantity. Therefore, he said that the paddy farmers, on an average, lost over Rs. 10,000 per acre. He demanded that the State Government purchase the ‘sanna rakala vadlu‘ by paying at least Rs. 2,500 per quintal. He also demanded that the State Government purchase all other crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Uttam Kumar Reddy also slammed the State Government for not enumerating the damage caused to crops due to heavy rains and floods. He said standing crops spread across over 40 lakh acres were damaged, fully or partially, due to heavy rains and floods. He said that the farmers’ organisations have estimated the losses to be of more than 20 lakh acres costing around Rs. 5,000 crore. However, he said that the State Government made no efforts to assess the damages and help the affected farmers. He said that the State Government did not write a single letter to the Centre seeking relief for farmers. He also slammed the BJP Government at the Centre for neglecting the affected farmers of Telangana. He demanded that all the affected farmers must be paid compensation on an immediate basis.

The TPCC Chief also pointed out that the farmers of Telangana never got the benefit of crop insurance due to the negligence of both BJP Government at the Centre and TRS Government in the State. He said not a single farmer who lost his/her crop due to natural calamities ever got any help from the BJP or TRS Government. He said that the Telangana State was facing a severe agricultural crisis although CM KCR has been carrying a false propaganda revolving around ineffective schemes like Rythu Bandhu or Rythu Bhima.

Uttam Kumar Reddy slammed CM KCR for not honouring the promise of waiving off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh. He said that the crop loan waiver, implemented by the TRS Govt in its first term, was so erratic that it did not help the farmers clear their debts. It was split into four instalments and payments were so delayed that most of the amount got adjusted towards interest. Similarly, he said that the TRS Government did not waive off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh although it was about to complete two years in power in its second term.

The TPCC Chief advised CM KCR to visit the villages and have an one-on-one interaction with the farmers to understand their problems. He said that KCR did not interact with a farmer in the last seven years and never visited an agricultural field. He is trying to enforce a Regulated Cropping system by holding review meetings in Pragathi Bhavan. He said if KCR was serious in the welfare of farmers, then he should visit the villages to get first-hand knowledge instead of relying only on feedback from the officials.

Later, Uttam Kumar Reddy submitted a memorandum to the District Collector in Nalgonda demanding that the State Government purchase ‘sanna rakala vadlu‘ at Rs 2500 per quintal. He informed that Rythu Deeksha program was held across Telangana State on Thursday. He announced that the Congress party would intensify the agitation against the TRS Govt if it fails to help the farmers who are in distress. (Maxim News)

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