Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said on Wednesday that farmer suicides was not a recent phenomenon and it could not be stopped in a day or two.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly during the debate on farmers’ suicides, Mr Rao appealed to the farming community not to commit suicide as his government had drafted short, medium and long-term plans to avert agrarian crises in future.
“Opposition leaders are asking us to stop farmers’ suicides by tomorrow or day after. Is it possible for anyone to do that? These suicides are the result of decades of misrule of governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh, which cannot be solved overnight,” Mr Rao remarked.
He appealed to farmers to give some time for the 15-month-old TRS government to take corrective measures. “We have not achieved Telangana state to see your deaths. The separate state is to ensure your wellbeing and prosperity. Please don’t commit suicide. We are on the path to put agriculture back on track."
"We have waived Rs 17,000 crore loan arrears of 36 lakh farmers, resolved power cut issues, supplied adequate seeds and fertilisers etc. In the same way, we will complete ongoing and new irrigation projects in the next four years, which will resolve the water problem… Please be patient and give us some time,” he said.
He said ignoring minor irrigation tanks is the main reason for farmer suicides.
