Hyderabad: CPI seeks relief for distressed farmers

Himayatnagar: The CPI Telangana State Committee on Tuesday wrote to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao demanding compensation to farmers of several districts for suffering loss of paddy and other crops due to hot weather conditions and lack of water supply.

Party secretary Chada Venkat Reddy said in the letter that farmers raising crops in several wet mandals of districts, like Karimnagar, Siddipet, Adilabad, were suffering heavy losses of crops on account of severe water shortage and fall in levels of bore-wells.

The letter stated that due to lack of water supply crops at the grain stage were becoming dry causing severe hardship to farmers. Reddy said each ryot was forced to spend Rs10,000-30,000 as loan for de-silting their lands, although there is the EGS scheme, which he alleged, the government was neglecting.

Besides, he said, sinking of side bores did not yield the desired results. "As a result, the woes of farmers only increased". Reddy cited the example of a farmer, KandukuriAnjaiah of Lambadipalli in Chigurumamidi mandal of trying in vain of using tanker water to wet paddy crop. "I have seen him in distress", he noted in the letter.

Reddy also mentioned the suicide by consuming pesticide on April 1 of Patel Sampath Reddy of Kundavanipalli in Akkammapet mandal of Karimnagar district after his paddy crop in 20 acres dried up due to non-availability of water.

The CPI leader urged the government to take up relief measures for the benefit of affected farmers who are suffering because of failure of paddy and vegetable crops and subsequent loss of investments. He demanded immediate survey of crop loss and initiation of assistance measures. Reddy sought compensation under the disaster management scheme, ex-gratia to families of the dead farmers, besides payment of investment at the rate of Rs25,000 per acre.