As Kharif season progresses, queues for urea keep growing in Telangana

From Suryapet to Mahabubabad and Sadashivapet, the urea crisis has disrupted the second phase of Kharif operations

Hyderabad: Long queues for urea and intensified protests continued across the State even on Wednesday indicating no let up in the urea crisis.

From Suryapet to Mahabubabad and Sadashivapet, the crisis has disrupted the second phase of Kharif operations with farmers making beelines at fertilizer distribution centres. In Suryapet district’s Arvapalli Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society, the situation was no different.

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On Wednesday, a single lorry carrying approximately 400 bags of urea arrived, drawing over 1,000 farmers who stood in the scorching sun, waiting anxiously for their share. The limited supply and disorganised distribution have sparked tensions, with farmers accusing authorities of mismanagement and alleging black marketing of urea at inflated prices.

Similarly, in Nimmikal village of Suryapet district, farmers queued up at the Mana Gromor outlet, struggling to secure urea for their fields. The long waits and inadequate supply have left many fearing huge crop losses. Timely fertilizer application is critical during this stage of the Kharif season.

In Sadashivapet, farmers lined up in large numbers for hours at distribution centres, braving harsh weather conditions in hope of securing urea to meet their requirement from the limited supplies. The acute shortage has led to widespread frustration, with many farmers receiving only one or two bags, far below their requirements for crops like paddy, maize, and cotton.

The crisis took a tragic turn in Mahabubabad district, where a farmer, Boda Narsing from Bhukya Thanda in Maripeda Mandal, met with a accident while heading to a urea distribution centre. Narsing left home at 4 am to join the queue at the Purushothamagudem Rythu Vedika.

Near the Purushothamagudem stage, he lost control of his two-wheeler, fell into a ditch, and sustained severe injuries. Passersby found him unconscious at around 5 am and rushed him to the Mahabubabad district hospital availing 108 ambulance service. He is receiving treatment in the hospital and said to be out of danger.