Telangana Telugu Desam party has demanded that the TRS government immediately initiate relief measures in the drought affected mandals in Telangana State.
TTDP MLA A Revanth Reddy, who is principal accused in the infamous Cash-for-Vote case, has written a letter to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in this regard on Monday. He stated the State government has a bounden duty to infuse confidence among the families of farmers, who have committed suicide under despair. He also stated the worst drought spell was prevailing in Telangana districts as never before in the last one decade.
The TTDP leader also stated there was no evidence that the government conducted review meetings and prepared reports district-wise on the drought conditions. Some 1,150 farmers had committed suicides in the last 14 months in the State. He pointed out that the Telangana State ranks second in farmers’ suicides as per Crime Bureau Report and during the last one week alone, over 10 farmers ended their lives. But there was none from government side to infuse confidence among the distressed farmers. Consequently, agriculture laborers were migrating due to lack of work here. He also recalled Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh saying that Telangana government failed to send last year’s report on drought.
Asking the government to send report to the Centre without any delay, Revanth alleged there was no sincerity in Mission Kakatiya scheme taken up by the government. The government has created a hype on Mission Kakatiya saying that the government would spend Rs 20,000 crore to develop 46,000 tanks. But there are no rains in Mahbubnagar, Medak, Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda, Warangal, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts. Drought conditions prevailed in 233 of 443 mandals in nine districts in Telangana. The farmers were cultivating only in 52.29 lakh acres out of 1.03 crore acre in Kharif season. Paddy cultivation was not even 10 percent.
Asking the government why it was delaying in announcing the drought-hit mandals, Revanth Reddy alleged that it was bad on the part of government, which conducted review meeting on liquor sales, for not conducting the same on drought situation in the State. Stating that farmers were facing troubles relating to loan waiver, Revant alleged the banks were not giving fresh loans. The NREGS workers’ payments were stopped and lakhs of labor were migrating to other places for greener pastures. Even as per official reports, some 13 lakh workers have migrated to other places in search of livelihood.
The TTDP leader demanded that the government provide input subsidy to the farmers, who lost their seed due to lack of rains. The government has to provide seed and fertilizers to farmers free of charge if there was no rain. He demanded that the government provide working days to the labor along with the farmers who fell in debts. The government has to provide agriculture loans to the eligible tenant farmers also, he added. (NSS)