Narayanpet: Red gram farmers stage protest against Markfed norms

Narayanpet: The red gram farmers in Narayanpet district staged a protest at the Narayanpet market yard and expressed their anger against the Central government's norm of buying only up to 10 quintals of red gram produce of only those farmers having less than five acres of land. The farmers staged a protest and blocked the road leading to the red gram procurement centre set up by the Markfed officials in Narayanpet market yard and demanded the officials to immediately relax the norms or else they warned to intensify their protest.

However, the officials from market yard and Markfed intervened and urged the farmers to calm down as they were sending their demands and proposals to the Central government through Union Minister for State Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy. The leaders of the farmers association and the market yard officials and authorities of Markfed spoke to Union Minister on phone. And up on their request, the Home Minister had agreed to enhance at least 10 percent increase in the procurement of red gram and assured the farmers of providing justice.

After which, the police had also intervened and urged the farmers to clear the main roads, where a large number of vehicles were stranded due to the protest.

"The Central government's norm of procuring red gram from the farmers who are having land below five acres up to just 10 quintals is illogical. If this norm is followed, the red gram farmers will incur huge losses," said a protesting farmer.

The farmers demanded that the State and Central governments to not to put any kind of hurdles in the way of red gram procurement and urged them to procure all the produce.

Jaya Laxmaiah, Assistant Business Manager, District Commercial and Marketing Services (DCMS) Mahbubnagar said that they have already sent a proposal and also informed about the protest of the red gram farmers and requested to relax the norms. "At present, we are buying up to 10 quintals from each farmer as per the Markfed guidelines issued by the Central government. However, we have also sent proposals to Central government through Union Minister to relax the norms to help the farmers, for which they have given an assent for the same and as and when we get written orders, we will start buying more red gram from farmers," said the DCMS Assistant Business Manager.