Lokesh urges CM to take steps to prevent 'aqua holiday'

Vijayawada : TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh on Thursday urged the Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to take steps so as to prevent aqua farmers from declaring 'aqua holiday' this year.

In a letter to the Chief Minister here, Lokesh said sector after sector including aqua culture were getting stuck in crisis ever since the YSRCP came to power. The sand policy had dealt a blow to the construction and over 130 allied sectors. He said government policies are forcing farmers to commit suicides.

He expressed concern over the thoughtless policies of the government resulting in power cuts and power holidays affecting the industrial sector. Lack of remunerative prices were forcing the farmers to go on a crop holiday. Input costs for agriculture had also gone up, he said.

He termed it as alarming that Andhra Pradesh had come in third place in the country in farmers' suicides. The rate of feed had gone up by Rs 20 per kg while the prices of minerals and other products went up by 30 per cent. He said the government had not taken any steps to provide relief to the people. He said the previous Naidu regime had led to double digit growth in the aqua sector.

He said that in the past three years, not a single new ice plant, processing plant or cold storage had come up in the state adding that no incentives were given to those who showed interest in setting up of those kind of plants.