Anantapur: Congress senior leader and former union minister Chinta Mohan on Monday demanded the Centre to declare the drought in the district as a national disaster, following the high rate of suicides. He lamented that over 1,000 farmers had committed suicide over the past few years in Anantapur district alone.
Referring to consecutive drought years in Anantapur district, he said the entire farming community in the district was facing a dire situation. He lashed out at Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for ‘pretending’ to rescue groundnut crops through rain guns. He demanded an immediate relief for farmers, at least Rs 25,000 to each farmer, to overcome from the crisis.
Meanwhile, APCC chief N. Raghuveera Reddy announced the launch of rythu bharosa yatra in the district. The yatra will be held in Rayadurgam constituency covering Tungabhadra High Level Main Canal. It will be taken out for 10 km from Seetharamapuram towards Brahmasamudram.
