In a bid to exert pressure on both the State and Central governments to procure paddy produced in this yasangi (rabi) season, the Rythu Ikya Vedika has decided to hold a protest rally cum dharna in the district headquarters town of Jagtial on April 13.
In a statement, Rythu Ikya Vedika district president P Tirupathi Reddy has demanded that the State and Central governments immediately resolve the impasse over the procurement of paddy to protect the interests of farmers and prevent their exploitation by rice millers.
Amid the prevailing stalemate over paddy procurement, the paddy farmers are caught in a quandary worried over the fate of their paddy produce, he said, demanding that the government set up paddy procurement centres to buy the paddy produce from farmers.
The Rythu Ikya Vedika will hold a massive protest march and dharna in Jagtial on April 13 to press for procurement of paddy, he said.
Meanwhile, in a statement the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) Khammam district president M Nageshwara Rao alleged that the State and Central governments were trying to shirk their responsibility of procuring paddy from farmers.
The TRS dispensation in the State and the BJP regime at the Centre are indulging in political blame game over paddy procurement, he alleged, threatening to launch an intensive agitation if both the governments failed to resolve the stalemate and procure the entire paddy produce from farmers.
