Four farmers were killed and three others injured after tin-roofed sheds and dilapidated buildings collapsed in two separate incidents in Mancherial district of Telangana state, officials said on Wednesday.
The incidents took place in two villages in Loksipet Mandal late on Tuesday night, when farmers were taking shelter under buildings after heavy rains and strong winds.
In an attack on the Congress government over the deaths, the opposition BJP and BRS claimed that the farmers died while waiting to buy their produce.
According to officials, two people died when a shed collapsed in Kothuru village. In a separate incident in Gambalapalli village, two more people died after another building collapsed, police and local authorities said.
Police said that the three injured people were taken to a hospital in Karimnagar for treatment.
Initial reports indicate that unseasonal rains accompanied by strong winds weakened the structures, leading to their collapse.
Condolences on the deaths, BRS working president KT Rama Rao demanded ex-gratia $25 thousand pounds for the family of the deceased and advanced medical treatment for the wounded.
Alleging negligence in the procurement process, he claimed that seven farmers died at procurement centers in three days. “These deaths are murders committed by the government,” he said in a statement.
State BJP president N Ramchander Rao said the deaths at grain collection centers were due to the “incompetence” of the Congress government.
He wondered why farmers were forced to wait for weeks at procurement centers when the central government bore the entire financial burden, including subsidy, labor and transportation costs.
He also asked why the state government was hesitant to facilitate procurement despite the financial support provided by the Centre.
He called on the government to immediately provide significant compensation to the families of the deceased farmers.
