State, Central govts flayed for ignoring farmers’ welfare

Kurnool: APCC president Gidugu Rudra Raju on Tuesday came down heavily on the State and Central governments for ignoring the welfare of farmers.

Addressing the Rythu Garjana rally organised by the Congress party here, Rudra Raju said that the party leaders visited Palnadu, Guntur, Nandyal and Anantapur districts to take stock of drought situation in the State. The rally began at the Congress office and culminated at the District Collectorate.

He said almost all crops have withered due to the non-availability of water and lack of adequate rainfall during the monsoon season. As many as 15 farmers had committed suicide. The YSRCP government instead of coming to the aid of the farmers is just playing the role of a spectator, he regretted.

He said there are 685 mandals in the State and the drought situations were prevailing in almost all mandals. He wondered why the YSRCP government declared only 103 mandals as drought-hit.

The national disaster management organisation has declared 449 mandals in the State as drought-hit but the Central and State governments have totally ignored its report, alleged Rudra Raju.

The Congress demanded that an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh should be paid to the kin of each of the farmers who had committed suicide. An assistance of Rs 50,000 per acre should be provided for crop damage.

Congress Working Committee member N Raghuveera Reddy pointed out that there was plenty of rain during the last four years. But this year the State received deficient rainfall.

The crops cultivated under the canals also withered. The farmers in the State were facing huge debt burden. In a bid to repay the debts borrowed from moneylenders and other sources, the farmers are migrating to far away places in search of livelihood, he pointed out.

Raghuveera Reddy demanded that the government should stop the migrations by providing employment through the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme.

Raghuveera said the earlier Congress government has constructed several irrigation projects under Jala Yagnam. However, the current YSRCP government has failed to focus on the projects. He demanded that the government all pending irrigation projects and cater to the needs of farmers.

APCC secretaries Meiyappan, JD Seelam, former MP Chinta Mohan, Senior Congress leader NTulasi Reddy, party leaders Tantiya Kumari, Kurnool and Nandyal District Congress Committee presidents, Babu Rao and Lakshmi Narasimha Yadav and large number of party activists attended the rally.