Karimnagar/Warangal: Following the orders issued by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, many farmers in the erstwhile Karimnagar and Warangal districts who did not cultivate paddy and not even opted for alternative crops feel they have been betrayed by the state government.
In absence of any agricultural activities for past six months, several lakh acres of land are barren both in erstwhile Karimnagar and Warangal districts.
Facing huge losses, some of farmers have even migrated to other places in search of livelihood leaving their native villages.
Jinkala Veeraiah, resident of Ganneruvaram mandal in Karimnagar district said that he had four acres of land, but following the orders of the Chief Minister, he stopped cultivating paddy, left his fields and migrated to Hyderabad with his family in search of livelihood.
He said had he taken up cultivation in his four acres of land, he would have earned more than Rs 80,000.
“Unable to cultivate other crops I not only suffered loss without taking up paddy cultivation but was also forced to leave the village,” he said and demanded the state government to pay compensation for the loss.
Ravula Ramalingam, a farmer of Narsampet division in Warangal district, said that he left his two and half acres of field vacant without taking up cultivation fearing lack of marketing facility. “The state government has no clarity on the paddy issue and created confusion among the farmers. The farmers followed the orders and faced loss. Now the government should bail us out from this crisis”, he urged.
The farmers said that the state government had earlier announced that it will not procure paddy. Later it said it will exert pressure on the Central government to procure paddy. Now the state government says it will open purchasing centres and will buy all paddy produced in state, they added.
