Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gidugu Rudra Raju on November 1 (Wednesday) alleged that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government had failed to address the woes of farmers in the State.
Mr. Rudra Raju, along with other Congress leaders, visited the family of Kakunuri Srikanth, a young debt-ridden farmer who ended his life owing to crop loss, at Ratchamalapadau village of Veldurthi mandal in Palnadu district.
He said that Srikanth, who left behind his wife and two sons Jagadish (7) and Vinay (5), had cultivated cotton and chilli in seven acres of which he had taken five acres on lease. he had incurred crop loss due to a deficit rainfall and his debt burden touched ₹10 lakh. Left without hope, he resorted to teh extreme step.
Mr. Rudra Raju handed over financial assistance of ₹50,000 to the family members of Srikanth and demanded that the government must pay an ex gratia of ₹25 lakh to the bereaved family.
“Farmers in the State have been at the receiving end of the government apathy. There has been a steady rise in the number of farmer suicides. However, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy remains indifferent to their woes,” said Mr. Rudra Raju.
Drought-hit mandals
The APCC president said that 400 of the total 685 mandals in Andhra Pradesh were reeling under drought conditions but the government had declared only 103 of them as drought-hit.
He demanded that the Chief Minister visit the drought-hit mandals and interact with the farmers to get a first-hand account of the losses they had incurred and announce immediate relief accordingly to check the suicides.
Congress State working president Mastan Vali, APCC Doctors’ Cell State president Ramachandra Reddy, PCC general secretary Radhakrishna, Seva Dal chairman Yelamanda Reddy, SC Cell State president Saake Shankar, DCC president Alexander Sudhakar were among others who accompanied Mr. Rudra Raju.
