Rain-hit farmers would be compensated: Pocharam

Kamareddy: Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Pocharam Srinivas Reddy on Wednesday said that he fully empathizes with the farmers as he was a farmer himself and could understand their agony when their crops, which come to yield, suddenly wither away.

Assuring the farmers that the State government would come to their rescue after touring several villages in Banswada and Birkoor mandals to examine crops which were damaged in the heavy unseasonal rains and hailstorm, he said that the officials of the Agricultural Department were assessing the extent of damage and would submit a report at the earliest.

The Agriculture Minister said that it was highly unfortunate that the crops which were ready for harvest, were suddenly washed away in the rains, thus pushing the farmers into doldrums. Nature’s fury has shocked and saddened him as it was the poor farmers were left in the lurch, he added.

He promised them that he would take up the issue with the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and ensure that justice was done to the farmers. The government would compensate them for the losses, he assured.

Minister Pocharam urged the officials of the departments concerned to tour the villages and prepare assessment reports honestly and correctly after studying the situation at the field level. They should identify the genuine victims who incurred the losses. Those farmers who were covered under crop insurance scheme should be compensated immediately, he added.

The Agriculture Minister said that for the farmers who incurred losses, work should be provided for 150 days from the present 100 days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). He directed the officials to take necessary steps in this connection.

Zaheerabad MP BB Patil, Banswada constituency in-charge Pocharam Surender Reddy, local leaders and several officials were present on the occasion.