Kamareddy: Farmers torch paddy crops

Kamareddy: The enraged farmers at the government's insensitive attitude, have burnt thinner paddy in the fields in Lingapur village of the district on Friday.

The farmers said that they have cultivated fine paddy as per the government instructions. The yield was reduced by 60% due to mosquito bite infestation to the crop. They couldn't get even the cost of the cultivation as MSP was not guaranteed for the rest of the produce, creating financial loss to the farmers. Hence, they took the extreme step as number of protests, dharnas and rasta rokos failed to make the government to announce minimum support price for their yield.

Narayana, a farmer from Lingapur village set fire to his three-acre paddy field on Friday. Observing him, another farmer, Komireti Anjaneyulu also set fire to his three-acre crop in protest and many others in the village followed the suit. The farmers said that the government suggested them to cultivate paddy thinner, which is highly susceptible to pests.

A farmer said that he followed government suggestions, which assured to purchase the yield. "But the entire crop was damaged due to mosquito bite infestation and I incurred a loss of Rs 60,000 on crop expenditure," he lamented.