Farmers in the capital region do not have work as cultivation was stopped

The CRDA survey stated 53,373 people were agriculture workers, 12,073 were casual labourers, 11,578 were self-employed in agriculture sector, 6,190 were daily wage workers, 7,863 were non-agriculture self-employed and 8,644 are other workers in 29 villages of the capital region. According to reports, nearly 5,000 people have migrated to other places in search of work.

The construction and industrial sector activity is on the surge in Guntur and Vijayawada and adjacent areas and hence ma-ny unemployed people are going there. Agriculture work is available in West Godavari, Prakasam, Nellore and other districts and so agriculture workers are migrating to these districts for work.

The state government and CRDA promised to distribute social security pension from May this year but in vain. Tadikonda MLA of Telugu Desam, T. Sravan Kumar under whose constituency a majority of villages in the new capital would come, had asked the district officials and CRDA to provide work to the people of the capital region villages but it failed to materialise.

The people of Mandadam, J. Prasad and others lamented that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation for the new capital in their village but the government did not provide any alternative work. Recalling the starting of new capital construction work from October 22, they lamented that short term crops can be cultivated till September/October providing work to the unemployed but the decision of the government about stopping cultivation is creating severe financial difficulties.

CRDA special grade deputy collector N. Rahamtullah said that the government will primarily provide tree plantation work under NREGS and is also considering providing other work for the unemployed.