Fertiliser woes continue: Only half of urea supply reaches Asifabad

Kumram Bheem Asifabad district has received less than half of its required urea quota, impacting cotton, paddy, and pulse farmers. Long queues have formed at cooperative societies, with farmers skipping meals and fainting due to extended waiting hours. In neighbouring Mancherial, while the situation is slightly better, supply remains short.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad/Mancherial: Kumram Bheem Asifabad district is yet to receive half of the quota of urea required for various crops being grown in the district, worrying farmers.

According to officials, different crops are being raised in 4.45 lakh acres in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district. While cotton is being grown in 3.35 lakh acres, paddy is being raised in 55,000 acres. Red gram accounted for 32,000 acres, while the area of cultivation of green gram, soya and other horticulture crops is 23,000 acres.

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Officials said that the district got 25,000 metric tonnes (MTs) of urea out of the requirement of 60,000 MTs so far. Over 50 percent of the fertiliser needs to be dispatched to the district, reflecting a bleak scenario. The remaining quantum of the urea would likely be delivered to the district soon, officials expressed confidence.

However, farmers continued to face inconvenience due to the urea shortage in the district. They are forming long queues at primary agriculture cooperative societies that sell urea. They are desperately waiting at the societies for a long time to purchase the fertiliser. They are witnessing a slew of challenges while standing in the queues .

For instance, the farmers are forced to miss lunch in a quest to buy the urea. Some of the farmers are provided food by local politicians who come forward to rescue the farmers after learning of their plight through social media platforms. A farmer fainted while waiting in a queue to purchase urea in Bejjur mandal recently.

Meanwhile, officials said that Mancherial district received 20,222 metric tonnes of urea as against a requirement of 28,506 MTs. They stated that the balance fertiliser was going to be shipped to the district in a week or two. They added that steps were being taken to avoid inconvenience to farmers due to shortage of urea. Farmers alleged that the urea was being diverted to Maharashtra.

They accused officials of showing false data and misleading higher authorities. Cotton, paddy and other crops are being raised in 3.10 lakh acres in the district.