Congress demands relief to hailstorm-hit farmers

Hyderabad: The Congress party on Tuesday demanded that the government come to the rescue of farmers who have suffered losses due to the untimely rains in the State. Addressing the media, Party Kisan Cell national vice chairman M Kodanda Reddy said that thousands of farmers have suffered crop losses due to the untimely rains, and hail storm.

In another press meet, TPCC official spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin urged Telangana State Election Commission to direct the State government to stop Farmers' Survey till the completion of local body elections.

Nizamuddin said that the proposed survey on farmers was a violation of Model Code of Conduct and an attempt by the TRS government to misuse official machinery in favour of the ruling party. He said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced the Farmers' Survey on April 16 and claimed that the State government was planning to seek perfect statistical data to establish crop colonies.

He said that a detailed format for the survey comprising about 44 columns collecting details of every farmer has reportedly been prepared by officials. "In the name of survey, the TRS government wants to send thousands of Agriculture Extension Officers (AEOs) to all farmers to pressurise or lure them to vote for ruling TRS in local body elections.

The Chief Minister doesn't want to seek farmers' information, but he wants to seek their votes," he alleged. The Congress leader pointed out that the information, proposed to be gathered through the Farmers' Survey, was already available with the government.

The survey aims to obtain details like total extent of land, cultivable area, water source, crops under cultivation, agriculture mechanisation, fertilisers usage, crop yield, power supply connections, bank account details, market facilities, etc., He said these details were already available with more than four departments including Banks, Energy, Revenue and Agriculture Departments.