Demand for Telangana’s farmer welfare schemes echoes in Odisha streets

Thousands of farmers under the banner of Navnirman Krushak Sansthan launched a padayatra in Jajpur district of Odisha on Thursday.

Khammam: In an unequivocal endorsement to the efficacy of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s pro-farmer initiatives, the demand to implement farmer welfare schemes being implemented in Telangana is echoing in the streets of Odisha.

Thousands of farmers in Jajpur district under the leadership of Navnirman Krushak Sansthan chairman Akshaya Kumar launched a padayatra from the Dhanmandal railway station to the Odisha capital, Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

The padayatra continued amid police interception at every step. Farmer leaders from Telangana, Nallamala Venkateshwar Rao and Narasimha Naidu, participated in the padayatra in support of Odisha farmers. The padayatra will last for seven days.

The farmers who took part in the padayatra demanded that they should be given Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima and free electricity to agriculture like it was being given in Telangana. They displayed placards hailing Chandrashekhar Rao with slogans, ‘A committed CM for common man’ and ‘KCRji your mission, your vision and your ambition for farmers is exceptional’.

Speaking to Telangana Today over phone from Odisha, Venkateshwar Rao said the demands of the Odisha farmers included pension to farmers who have crossed 60 years of age and that pensions should be increased from Rs.500 to Rs.2000 like Aasara pensions in Telangana apart from ensuring minimum support price to agriculture produce.

“The welfare measures being implemented in Telangana have become a model in the country and have been attracting the attention of people in many neighbouring States. People in many States have already demanded for Telangana model welfare schemes,” he noted.

Recently thousands of farmers from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other States demanded their respective governments to implement the schemes being implemented by the Telangana government during a protest in Karnataka’s capital, Bengaluru, he said.