hyderabad
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has alleged that the Congress Government in the State is not showing any urgency to estimate the crop damage/loss due to the recent untimely rain, gales and hails and the government functionaries appear to have no time even to console the farmers who suffered losses.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, former chairman of the Rythu Bandhu Samithi and MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, former MP Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy, former MLC M. Srinvas Reddy and others stated that the untimely rain coupled with hails and gales had damaged standing crops in about 2 lakh acres badly and the loss was higher in North Telangana.
Neither the Chief Minister nor the Agriculture Minister appear to have no time to console farmers and infuse confidence among them with field visits and announcement of relief as they seem to be busy with politics. Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao having about four decades of political experience was speaking lies on the interventions made/not made by the previous BRS Government on such occasions.
The BRS leaders stated that following crop loss with untimely rain, hails and gales, the previous government had lost no time in assessing the crop damage and paid ₹10,000 per acres relief. They said the previous government had immediately rushed Ministers and others to examine the loss with untimely rain from March 23 to April 23 last year.
Even the then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had examined the crop damage through field visits and Mr. Nageswara Rao had himself accompanied the Chief Minister in one of those visits.
Besides, the previous government had set aside funds of ₹7,500 crore for Rythu Bandhu disbursement for the Rabi season but it was Congress that had stopped transfer of the benefit. After the elections, the Congress Government had extended the benefit only a section of farmers and only those in the government would know now as to where the funds had gone.
In addition, the Congress Government had borrowed ₹16,500 crore since December last. The Congress Government also owes an answer to people and farmers as to why they had not paid ₹500 per quintal bonus to paddy procured for Kharif season and why the ₹2 lakh crop loan waiver was not implemented so far even after promising to implement it by December 9.
