Farmers Losing Their Lives: Harish

Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao on Tuesday said the Congress government was presiding over a disaster in the making for farmers, and the situation was getting worse with several of them losing their lives just waiting for their Yasangi season produce to be purchased at the market yards.

“Soldiers are fighting on our borders to protect the country. Farmers are fighting at market yards for their produce to be bought. The government has kept pending Rs.512 crore towards bonus for fine rice, there are four lakh tonnes of rice piled up at market yards. But Chief Minister Revanth Reddy does not have time for anything else other than beauty contests on which he is holding review meeting upon review meeting. Thousands of officials and police personnel have been deputed for the beauty contests but the CM does not have any time for the hard-working farmer who puts food on everyone’s table,” Harish Rao said.

At a press conference, Harish Rao said the government had promised to buy 70 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy but not even 40 LMT had been bought so far. The government already owes Rs.4,000 crore to farmers. Civil supplies minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy had said payments would be made within 48 hours of purchase but farmers are having to wait for 10 days or more, he said.

Harish Rao also said that one farmer had died in Mulugu district because 10 kg was being deducted from each quintal towards processing losses. “At least five other farmers lost their lives, some just waiting next to their paddy heaps at market yards in Mahbubabad, Jagtiial, and Siddipet districts. None of these tragic incidents are even in the notice of the Chief Minister. The government must immediately address the problems faced by farmers and solve them. If this is not done, then the BRS will launch an agitation,” he warned.