TD says state has failed in helping farmers

Kakinada: Telugu Desam Kakinada district president Jyothula Naveen Kumar on Friday criticised the state government for not coming to the aid of farmers who have incurred heavy losses due to cyclonic rains.

Speaking to reporters here, he advised Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to undertake field visits to realise the extent to which farmers have suffered.

The TD leader underlined that only 10 per cent of Kharif crops have survived while remaining crops over lakhs of acres have been damaged due to the rains, including alternative crops like cotton, tobacco, mirchi, maize, groundnut and vegetables, apart from paddy.

Naveen Kumar said agriculture and horticulture crops worth ₹7,000 crore have been lost in the state. Jagan Mohan Reddy should seek aid from the central government and help the state’s farmers, he stated.

The TD leader demanded a compensation of ₹10 lakh to victims whose houses have been totally damaged by the cyclone.