A policeman tries to push a farmer who was standing in a queue line to buy cotton seeds at an outlet in Adilabad on Tuesday
Adilabad: Police used mild force to disperse farmers who jostled with each other while being in the queue to buy cotton seed here on Tuesday.
Farmers from several parts of the district flocked the seed selling shops from 7 am, following shortage of the seeds belonging to a brand, Rashi-2. They formed serpentine queues to buy the seeds. Policemen were deployed to control the crowds at the time of purchasing the seeds. They inspected various brands of the seeds.
Farmers regretted that they were allowed to buy only two packets containing 400 grams each. They expressed anger against the ration of the seeds. They picked up an argument with police for pushing them. Police then resorted to a cane charge to disperse the farmers for a brief while. resulting in tension for a while. However, police denied that there was a lathi charge.
When asked, Adilabad I town Inspector Satyanarayana clarified that police did not resort to lathi-charging against the farmers. He said that police were only trying to prevent a stampede and to bring the situation under control. He said the farmers were jostling with each other to buy the seeds. He requested the farmers to wait for their turn and purchase the seeds.