Karimnagar: Farmers staged a dharna by blocking the road in protest against the state government’s failure to purchase paddy after opening the purchasing centres two months back, at Malkapet village in Konaraopet mandal of Rajanna Sircilla district on Thursday.
“We have invested a lot of money by taking loans from money lenders to cultivate the crops and bringing the produce to the purchasing centres to sell these. But, the government is not purchasing the paddy and is showing negligence in procuring paddy from the farmers,” the farmers said.
They said, “If it rains, it would damage the paddy brought to the purchasing centres. It would cause a huge loss to us.”
They said officials were not responding to their plea to procure paddy. “They are giving silly reasons and saying they did not receive any information from the higher authorities to do this yet.”
The farmers demanded that officials purchase their produce immediately. “Otherwise, we would lay siege to the collectorate,” they warned.
Meanwhile, as part of a call given by BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, the party leaders of the erstwhile Karimnagar and Warangal districts staged a protest against the Congress government. They alleged that the government was adopting anti-farmer policies.
Before the elections, the Congress party promised the farmers that it would not only pay the minimum support price for the paddy but would also sanction a `500 bonus per quintal. “Now, the government is keeping restrictions and has decided to sanction bonus only to fine rice. It is deceiving the farmers.”
“The government must sanction a bonus of `500 not only for the fine rice but also to the farmers who cultivated other varieties of paddy too, along with providing MSP to the food grains, the BRS demanded.
