Yaddanapudi, November 08: TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu’s padayatra in this ricerich area met with tremendous response, with farmers waiting on the roads to meet Naidu all along the 18km stretch from Boppudi to Yaddanapudi.
This belt is known for producing superior quality rice, most of which is exported. However, farmers in the area have declared a crop holiday, as 100 to 200 quintals of paddy are lying with farmers. A farmer Koteswara Rao, spoke about how his paddy crop had dried up and he was unsure whether he would get back the money invested for cultivation. “The crop was damaged last year due to heavy rains. This year the crop withered due to lack of water,” Koteswara Rao said adding he had debts to the tune of Rs 1.8 lakh.
Moved by the plight of farmers, Naidu demanded the chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy should step down if he was unable to solve ryots’ problems. “The state government is thinking on political lines even in declaring droughthit mandals. Some mandals were declared droughthit as the ruling party would get political mileage,” Naidu alleged. He demanded the Centre to publish a whitepaper explaining why it had not implemented the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan Committee even after six years.
If the central and state governments did not take measures to support farmers on a warfooting, the country could face threat to its foodsecurity, Naidu said. Naidu started his padayatra at 11.30 a.m and it was completed by 6 p.m. He also drove a tractor and bullock cart during his journey.
TDP district leaders Damacharla Janardhan, Karanam Balaramakrishna Murthy, Kandula Narayana Reddy, Siddha Raghava Rao and others also took part in Naidu’s padayatra. He would tour in the Guntur district on Tuesday.
–Agencies