Harish Rao criticises Congress Govt over paddy procurement

Harish Rao said farmers were facing serious difficulties at paddy procurement centres across the State.

Jagitial: BRS senior leader and former Minister T Harish Rao sharply criticised the Congress government and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for the shoddy handling of the paddy procurement process.

During a surprise visit to a paddy procurement centre in Pudur of Kodimyal mandal in Jagtial district on Thursday, Harish Rao interacted with farmers and heard their grievances.

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Sharing their experiences, farmers informed that they brought their paddy to the procurement centre a month ago, but they were made to wait with officials refusing to purchase it.

They informed that rain damaged their stocks, causing significant losses. Many of the farmers were waiting for weeks, some as long as 40 days, to sell their produce.

Vexed with the government’s apathy, some of them were forced to sell their crop to middlemen and traders for lesser prices, they told the former Minister.

Harish Rao said farmers were facing serious difficulties at paddy procurement centres across the State.

He rubbished the claims of the Congress leaders that the State government was purchasing rain-soaked paddy, terming them as completely false.

He pointed out that the farmers are struggling to sell their produce. Slamming the Revanth Reddy government for betraying farmers without fulfilling the poll promises, he said Rythu Bandhu was not increased to Rs 7,500 within 100 days, the Rs 500 bonus per quintal of paddy was not given and crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh were not waived either.

Other assurances included financial assistance of Rs.12,000 to agricultural labourers and Rs 15,000 to tenant farmers under Rythu Bhorosa.

“None of these promises have been kept,” he said.

Harish Rao pointed out that the previous BRS government purchased 67 lakh tonnes of paddy during last Yasangi (Rabi season).

In contrast, the Congress government did not even procured 37 lakh tonnes during the current season.

He criticised the government for not purchasing paddy and for depriving farmers of the promised bonus by limiting it to fine variety alone.

He stated that the fine variety rice had good demand in the market and were fetching better price than the bonus promised by the State government.

He urged farmers not to lose hope and assured them that the BRS would continue to fight for their rights.