Farmers take to streets over crop loan waiver; AIPKS calls for protests on August 28

Extending support to the protesting farmers All India Pragathisheela Rythu Sangham (AIPKS) called for protests at all the district collectorates in the State on August 28 demanding unconditional crop loan waiver

Khammam: Even as the agricultural officials started receiving applications on Tuesday from farmers whose crop loan was not waived off, farmers took to streets at different places seeking crop loan waiver for all.

A large group of farmers staged rasta-roko in front of Vemsoor mandal MPDO office on the main road. Similarly farmers staged a protest at Chandrugonda Rythu Vedika in Kothagudem district demanding crop loan waiver for all farmers.

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Extending support to the protesting farmers All India Pragathisheela Rythu Sangham (AIPKS) called for protests at all the district collectorates in the State on August 28 demanding unconditional crop loan waiver.

Speaking to the media here, the sangham leaders Gurram Achaiah, M Nageswara Rao and Avula Venkateshwarlu stated that during the recent Assembly elections, the Congress party had promised to waive off the crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced that crop loans would be waived off by August 15. Even after nine months passed by since Congress came to power, crop loans were not waived off fully. While the government blames technical problems for the same.

The government has cheated lakhs of farmers by imposing restrictions instead of waiving their loans. Lakhs of small and marginal farmers could not get relief as ration cards were taken into consideration to identify farmer families, they said.

As ration cards were not issued to eligible farmers, lakhs of farmers were unable to avail loan waiver. Out of 3.17 lakh farmers, loans of only 1.15 lakh farmers waived and the figures announced by the government made it clear that more than two lakh farmers yet to avail loan waiver.

It was unfair to ask farmers pay the loan amount above Rs 2 lakh to get Rs 2 lakh loan waiver. If the government waives off Rs 2 lakh loan the farmers would be able to pay the remainder, the sangham leaders said.

They wanted immediate steps to solve the technical problems identified by the agriculture department and measures by the Central and State governments to provide a minimum support price for the crops.