Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gidugu Rudra Raju on Saturday urged Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to initiate immediate and effective measures to address the agrarian crisis in the State.
At a press conference here, Mr. Rudra Raju said vast stretches of agricultural land in the combined Anantapur and Kurnool districts had turned barren. He said farmers of the region had poured out their woes to him during his recent visit to the area.
Stating that nearly 20 farmers in the Aluru region had committed suicide, he demanded crop loss compensation of ₹1 lakh per acre to the farmers.
Mr. Rudra Raju said the Chief Minister should visit the areas affected by deficit rainfall, give a patient hearing to the farmers who were in distress, and order immediate payment of compensation to them.
Referring to the death of 13 migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh at Chikballapur, near Bengaluru, recently, Mr. Rudra Raju said he had represented the victims’ case to the Karnataka government, which was ready to pay compensation to the next of kin of the deceased. He said the Andhra Pradesh government should also grant ex gratia to the bereaved families.
He said the State would have been prosperous had the BJP government at the Centre kept its promise on the projects granted to Andhra Pradesh in the A.P. Reorganisation Act, and people would not have to migrate to neighbouring States to eke out a livelihood.
