HyderabadOpposition parties and the ruling Congress in Telangana on Friday engaged in a bitter political tussle over procurement of paddy and other agricultural products during the recently concluded Rabi season.
The opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has alleged that the Congress government has failed miserably in procurement of paddy, leaving farmers in a dilemma.
“Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is making ‘irresponsible and misleading’ statements on paddy procurement, while farmers across the state are suffering due to non-availability of gunny bags,” said KT Rama Rao, working president of BRS.
Speaking to reporters at the party office, KTR said farmers arriving at procurement centers are forced to wait for several days to sell their produce, with some collapsing and dying due to extreme heat and stress.
“Even after nearly a dozen farmers were killed in procurement centers due to heatstroke and the government’s apathy, the Prime Minister did not review the situation even once,” he said, adding that four farmers died due to heatstroke at Mancherial Market Square in the last two days.
The former minister called on the state government to wake up to the seriousness of the situation and take corrective measures in the cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on May 23.
He further alleged that the government has failed to procure even 35% of the total rice so far.
He added that farmers also held demonstrations in the chief minister’s constituency of Kodangal on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference, BJP legislative council leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy alleged that the Congress government has failed to protect farmers and ensure smooth procurement of farm produce across the state.
Maheshwar Reddy said many farmers were unable to sell their produce and fell victim to middlemen and exploitation.
“Farmers are already suffering from the impact of unseasonal rains and were simultaneously preparing for the upcoming monsoon season in June. However, paddy and maize procurement centers across the state were not functioning properly,” he claimed.
He claimed that the shortage of trucks and gunny bags was creating serious difficulties for farmers.
He said the state government was yet to open procurement centers in Jewar and was issuing “misleading statements” on the issue.
He wondered whether the government would deny the shortage of transport vehicles, delays in maize procurement, shortage of gunny bags, and absence of procurement centers in Jewar, which, he claimed, forced farmers to guard piles of produce in the market yards.
According to the BJP leader, only 24% of paddy procurement has been completed so far in the state.
He said that rice production in Telangana was around 1.41 lakh metric tons, while only 90,000 metric tons were procured last year.
“Even if the government’s claim of purchasing 45,000 metric tons this year is accepted, it will amount to only 30-35% of the procurement,” he said.
Maheshwar Reddy announced that BJP MLAs, MLCs and Members of Parliament will launch a statewide tour of procurement centers from Monday to assess the ground situation and express solidarity with farmers.
“They will inspect procurement centers across the state to check the extent of procurement of rice and maize,” he said.
Meanwhile, Telangana Rakshana Samithi (TRS) chief Kalvakuntla Kavitha also criticized the government over the ongoing agricultural crisis and participated in a protest near the Telangana Secretariat demanding immediate procurement of paddy, jowar and sunflower crops.
During the protest, Kavitha said that farmers across the state are facing severe hardship as the government has failed to procure their produce.
She expressed her dissatisfaction with reports of the deaths of farmers in purchasing centers, and accused the administration of deducting excessive quantities during purchases.
“We organized the protest by spilling rice near the Secretariat in the hope that the government would at least then realize the seriousness of the problem,” she said, calling for immediate intervention to ensure procurement without causing inconvenience to farmers.
During the protest near the secretariat, the police reportedly arrested several TRS workers, protesting women and farmers, including Kavitha.
The TRS alleged that police personnel behaved aggressively during the arrests and manhandled women and farmers while dispersing the protest.
Refuting opposition criticism, Telangana Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress government is making the largest ever paddy procurement in the history of Telangana and is fully committed to protecting the interests of farmers.
As on Wednesday, the state government procured 46.21 lakh metric tonnes of paddy out of the 54.29 lakh metric tonnes that reached the procurement centres, resulting in completion of nearly 85% of procurement, including over 6.32 lakh farmer transactions.
He said that procurement operations are actively continuing throughout the state through a wide network of 8,575 procurement centres.
He added that daily purchasing, transportation, grinding and payment operations continue in all directorates under constant monitoring.
He also described the allegation regarding the shortage of gunny bags as completely baseless.
“The government has already placed Rs 19.78 crore worth of gunny bags in the field, which is enough to buy the entire paddy that has reached the centres,” he said.
