HYDERABAD

Deputy Floor Leader of BRS in the Assembly T. Harish Rao said that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has no mercy on farmers who literally weep every day in procurement centres due to the inordinate delays in the sale of their produce at support price.

During a visit to a procurement centre at Chegunta in Medak district on Sunday, he said that the Chief Minister was unmoved even with protests by Congress supporters at the Collectorates. He alleged that corruption in Civil Supplies Corporation authorities had been making farmers suffer.

Speaking after interacting with farmers there, he said that the Revanth Reddy Government had badly failed in procurement of paddy this season, and said only two lorries had lifted the procured paddy at Karnalapally purchase centre after it was opened 25 days back. Unseasonal rains were damaging the produce including paddy, maize and other crops at the purchase centres and the rain-soaked produce was not being purchased by the authorities even after it was dried.

Farmers in every village are in deep distress and the Chief Minister had not even conducted a tele-conference with District Collectors and Ministers on paddy procurement and purchase of other crops. In Medak district, no minister had held a review meeting on the paddy procurement so far and such a situation was prevailing as the government had love for farmers.

Mr. Harish Rao alleged that Minister for Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy was speaking lies from his AC chambers in the Secretariat and he could know the troubles of farmers in case he goes around at least a few procurement centres in the Centre, keeping the policy away.

He sought to know whether the Chief Minister was not getting reports from the intelligence wing and police departments on the woes of farmers, while he had all the time get the opposition leaders arrested for their social media posts. The farmers who had disposed of their maize, bengalgram and sunflower produce at the procurement centres had not received any money so far and procurement of jowar was yet to begin.

Alleging that sunflower purchases was stopped for 35 days, he said the government was unmoved though termite was infesting the stocks in the market yards. He stated that hailstorm in at least 10 villages of Chegunta mandal had badly damaged the produce at market yards and harvesting platforms.