YSRTP president Y.S. Sharmila has asked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to pay ₹30,000 per acre from TRS party fund to farmers who did not cultivate due to his announcement that paddy would not be procured in summer. She said that farmers had lost heavily due to the signing of agreement between the State and Central governments.
On Saturday, she was furious over the absence of officials at the marketing office at a time when farmers were suffering due to the delay in paddy purchase from procurement centres.
Ms. Sharmila, who is on her padayatra in Nalgonda district, paid a surprise visit to Medak district headquarters on Saturday to meet the district marketing officer. She was informed that the officer was on leave for the last 10 days. There, farmers told her about their problems.
“For the last three weeks, officials are not procuring their paddy due to which it is getting damaged because of unseasonal rains. Farmers did not get their gunny bags also. How can officials responsible for procurement go on leave when procurement is at its peak and farmers are waiting?” asked Ms. Sharmila, adding that gunny bags were being supplied to farmers only on Saturday, when they had information about her visit.
“KCR had committed a mistake by signing an agreement with the Centre not to supply boiled rice. He should pay for this. About 17 lakh acres in the State has been left uncultivated due to the CM’s announcement,” said Ms. Sharmila and asked the government to commence paddy procurement immediately.
In a related development, BJP Kisan Morcha national committee member Madhusudhan Reddy and district president Gaddam Srinivas visited Shettipallykalan village at Veldurthi mandal to see the crop damage due to untimely rains. They alleged that despite opening of paddy procurement centres, purchase has not started.
