Dharani failures leading to farmers' suicides: Uttam Kumar Reddy

Hyderabad: Nalgonda MP & former TPCC President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has strongly condemned the TRS Government for not resolving massive errors in the Dharani portal which are leading many farmers to suicide.

Addressing meetings in different villages in the Suryapet district as part of Congress Raithu Rachabanda/ Rythu Bharosa Yatra, which entered its 15th day on Monday, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Dharni portal is proving to be a 'killer machine' for farmers. He said that the faulty Dharani portal has created disputes over 25 lakh acres of land in Telangana and so far, many farmers have either committed suicide or made an attempt after they lost their land.

Citing an instance, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that a farmer from Kajjarla village in Talamadugu Mandal of Adilabad district, Jaipal Reddy and his son Charan, attempted suicide after they were attacked by local TRS leaders to grab their 8 acres of land. He said TRS leaders were trying to take advantage of the discrepancies in the Dharani portal to claim ownership of land owned and possessed by Jaipal Reddy's family for the last 36 years. One Abdul Ghani and TRS leader Asif allegedly attacked Jaipal Reddy and Charan in an attempt to grab their land. With Revenue Officers supporting the TRS-backed land grabbers, the farmers were upset and attempted suicide. They are now undergoing treatment at RIMS, Adilabad.

Calling the Dharani portal a total failure, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the portal has created immense problems and disputes. He said that the small and marginal farmers were badly hit due to Dharani and the disputes forced many farmers to end their lives. "Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao appears to have introduced the Dharani portal to help TRS leaders grab land in their areas. In a majority of cases, TRS leaders tried to take advantage of glitches in the Dharani portal to grab the farmers' land. Backed by local Revenue and police officials, TRS leaders attacked farmers and took illegal possession of land," he said.

The Congress MP said that farmers would never forgive CM KCR and other TRS leaders for snatching away their land. He said the Congress party would not remain a mute spectator to such a large-scale grabbing of land. He said that the Congress party would fight on behalf of the farmers until the Dharani portal is banned.

Uttam Kumar Reddy pointed out that the Warangal Declaration, unveiled by AICC leader Rahul Gandhi on May 6, promises to ban the Dharani portal. "The next Congress Govt will ban Dharni and introduce a new revenue system wherein farmers will have total control and possession of their lands. We will ensure that farmers do not face any kind of dispute about their land," he said.

Congress MP appealed to all farmers to support the Congress party, which had promised to implement the Warangal Declaration of their welfare. Stating that the Congress party was all set to return to power in the next Assembly election, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that crop loans of up to Rs. 2 lakh would be waived off in a single take and small, marginal and tenant farmers would be given financial assistance of Rs. 15,000 per acre annually. Most importantly, he said that the Dharani portal, as promised in the Warangal Declaration, would be scrapped to protect the interest and land of Telangana farmers.

So far, Uttam Kumar Reddy covered 93 out of 320 villages to be covered in 45 days as part of the Rachabanda/ Rythu Bharosa Yatra.