BRS seeks govt balm for farmers hit by crop loss

Hyderabad: The BRS leaders in the State gave a memorandum to the government demanding payment of a bonus of Rs 500 to the farmers, besides providing compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre for the damaged crops.

On the call given by the party chief, K Chandrashekar Rao, to give representations to the government, the party leaders in the districts gave memoranda to the Collectors. In the city, a delegation of the BRS MLA led by former minister G Jagadish Reddy met chief secretary Santhi Kumari at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

The BRS leaders claimed to have discovered that farmers were facing distress due to crop losses caused by both water scarcity and untimely rains. They accused the government of failing to deliver on its promise of providing free power to the farmers. The leaders alleged that the government was not releasing water even to the canals. Because of the inaction of the government, almost 200 farmers committed suicide in the last three months, the BRS leaders said.

The demands of the party include the immediate release of water to lands near canals and ponds, providing three-phase free power to the farmers, and providing a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre. With damaged crops, the yield is likely to come down this rabi.

The government should provide a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal, ensure procurement of entire produce, implement the promise of a waiver of loans to the tune of Rs 2 lakh, and also provide Rs 15,000 per acre under Rythu Bandhu as promised in the elections. Party MLAs G Kamalakar, Padi Kaushik Reddy, KP Vivekanand, party leaders B Suman, S Subhash Reddy, and others were also present.