Hyderabad: Uttam accuses KCR of neglecting ryots' woes

Hyderabad: State Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy has criticised Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for neglecting the problems of maize, paddy and cotton farmers despite they carrying out massive protests across the State.

Addressing the media persons after inaugurating the party camp office in Dubbaka on Friday, Reddy said that the fate of lakhs of farmers depended on the outcome of Dubbaka elections. "CM KCR has been pursuing anti-farmers policies since 2014.

His government not only neglected farmers, but created new problems in every season for them," he alleged, citing the example of how the CM had advised farmers to grow specific crops like maize and superfine varieties of paddy, and now not procuring those crops.

The TPCC chief said that lakhs of farmers, who cultivated maize on the advice of Chief Minister, were now demanding MSP of Rs 1,850. However, with less than 15 days left for completion of harvesting, not a single procurement centre has been set up, he pointed out.

Uttam also condemned the TRS government for not extending any help to the farmers who lost their crops to heavy rains and floods in the State. He said although the State government has pegged the crop loss at about 13 lakh acres, the farmers' organisations have estimated the losses to be of more than 20 lakh acres, costing around Rs 5,000 crore.

He said that the State government has not put the process in motion to enumerate the losses and help the affected farmers. Instead, CM KCR is trying to under-report the losses by more than half.

Former ministers G Vinod and Damodar Reddy, ex-MLAs Maheshwar Reddy and Mahender Reddy, TPCC general secretary Prem Lal and other senior leaders were also present on the occasion.