Veerraju, Pawan demand relief for rain-hit farmers

VIJAYAWADA: AP BJP president Somu Veerraju and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan demanded that the state government come to the rescue of farmers whose crops have got damaged due to untimely rainfall in the past few days.

In separate statements issued here on Tuesday, they said farmers are quite distressed over large-scale damage to their crops.

AP BJP chief Veerraju asked the state government to enumerate the damage immediately, so that relief could be provided to the affected farmers.

Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan said both agriculture and horticulture crops, including paddy, mango, maize, banana and chillies spread over three lakh acres have got damaged.

Farmers, especially those of erstwhile Godavari districts, who have sown Bondalu variety of paddy, are worried, as this variety of paddy is not procured by Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs). Thus farmers are forced to sell the Bondalu variety to millers at a loss of ₹300 per bag.

Pawan Kalyan said once they form the government in Andhra Pradesh, they will evolve a special policy under which farmers, whose crops get damaged or are lost due to calamities, are automatically compensated.