Harish Wants CM To Open Gates for Farmers, Not Political Leaders
Warangal: Opposition BRS leader and former minister T. Harish Rao has asked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to open his gates for farmers, instead of trying to enrol political leaders into the Congress party.
His comments came after he, accompanied by Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari and former minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, inspected agricultural fields of farmers in Devaruppula mandal of Palakurthy constituency in Jangaon district on Sunday.
Harish Rao asked the Telangana CM to show interest in farmers, 180 of whom have committed suicide out of distress after the formation of Congress government in the state.
He blamed the Congress government for its inability to manage water for irrigation, though there is plenty of water in River Godavari. As a result, fields of farmers spread over thousands of acres have dried up. Some of the farmers have gone on to drill four to five bore wells. This has led to suicides, he maintained.
The former minister maintained that during the reign of BRS, canals flowed full of water. Farmers cultivated two crops and led a happy life with good returns from their crops. But after formation of the Congress government, there is no water, no current, agriculture motors are burning and transformers are bursting. He claimed that around 20 lakh acres of agricultural lands have dried up. Rains and hailstorms too have damaged crops spread over lakhs of acres, he maintained.
Harish Rao demanded that state government sanction compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre of damaged fields. It must purchase all paddy grains without any restriction, apart from paying a Rs 500 bonus to farmers.
The former minister warned that if the Congress government does not go to the aid of farmers, BRS will take up a massive movement and announce a Chalo Secretariat programme.
