Telangana: Kisan Congress demands survey of crop damage

Hyderabad: Former MLA and vice-president of All-India Kisan Congress M Kodanda Reddy demanded that the State government conduct a survey on crop damage in the State at the earliest and provide relief to farmers with due compensation.

Speaking to the media persons at Gandhi Bhavan, the senior Congress leader pointed out that keeping in view the heavy rainfall across the State this monsoon, the State government must evaluate the crop damage. "By now the State government should have completed the survey by involving the revenue and agriculture departments towards ascertaining the crop damage and by discussing the same in the cabinet, should have extended relief to farmers," he observed.

While recalling the way the past UPA government has come out with solutions to help farmers overcome huge losses during natural calamities, Reddy held that on contrary to this, the current BJP-led NDA government had ignored such a mechanism which was already in place. Even scores of government orders which throw emphasis on compensation are not being implemented neither by State nor by Central governments, he said.

Reminding the struggles of people ever since the demonetisation in 2016, the vice-president of Kisan Congress drew parallels to the new farm bills which have the potential to bring misery on farmers on a much larger scale and the subsequent impact on other sectors.

"It was the darkest day in the history of India when the farm bills were tabled in the Parliament.

The farmers who were already facing the impact of the coronavirus and selling off their produce under loss, were in a rude shock upon finding that the Union government was handing over entire agriculture sector to the corporates," he added.