Farmers suffering losses due to government negligence, says BRS leader

Says the Congress government failed to procure the crop immediately, leading to paddy stocked in purchase centres getting soaked

KARIMNAGAR: BRS leader and former MLA Sunke Ravishankar alleged that farmers were suffering losses due to negligence of the State government.

Speaking after inspecting soaked paddy in the Gangadhara market yard along with other BRS leaders on Tuesday, Ravishankar said the government had failed to procure the crop immediately, leading to paddy stocked in purchasing centres getting soaked due to unseasonal rains. As a result, the farmers were facing financial problems. He demanded the government to protect farmers by procuring the paddy immediately.

During the BRS regime, the then Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao used to procure each and every grain by establishing PPC centers in every village and farmers were also provided the minimum support price. Moreover, the amount used to be deposited in the bank accounts of farmers within a few days of procurement.

However, the procurement process has become a major issue after the Congress came to power. Weighing of the paddy was not being done even after weeks of shifting the paddy to procurement centers. It was getting soaked in rain water as tarpaulins were not supplied to farmers.

Stating that about 5 kg of paddy was being reduced citing various reasons, he said farmers would have to face more problems if the government failed to initiate steps immediately and speed up the procurement process, he said, adding that the Agriculture Minister’s promise to provide the amount within 48 hours was also proved wrong with farmers not getting the amount even after 10 days.