No Turmeric Board for Telangana: Centre

Telangana is the largest producer of turmeric with 3.86 lakh tonnes and has a cultivation area of 1.37 lakh acres.

Hyderabad: In a major blow to turmeric farmers in the State, the Centre on Monday categorically said there was no proposal to set up a Turmeric Board in Telangana.

Replying to a question raised by TRS MP KR Suresh Reddy in the Rajya Sabha, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry had already established a Regional Office-cum-Extension Centre of Spices Board at Nizamabad for export promotion of spices including turmeric.

He said turmeric was one of the important spice crops in the country with a total production of 11.53 lakh tonnes, which accounts for 78 per cent of total turmeric production in the world. Telangana is the largest producer of turmeric with 3.86 lakh tonnes and has a cultivation area of 1.37 lakh acres.

The erstwhile Nizamabad district is one of the biggest centres of turmeric trade in Telangana. In the run-up to the 2019 general election, BJP candidate Dharmapuri Arvind gave a written promise on a bond paper that he would convince the Centre to set up the Turmeric Board in Nizamabad if he was elected as MP and won the seat.

However, the promise remains unfulfilled. Turmeric farmers, in a novel attempt, contested the 2019 general elections from Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency and also from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi to highlight their issue. The turmeric farmers have been staging protests since then, demanding that the Turmeric Board be set up besides ensuring Minimum Support Price for turmeric.

With their pleas falling on deaf ears and Arvind failing to live up to his promise, the farmers resumed their protests in January this year under ‘Rythu Aikya Vedika’ and have been demanding the MP’s resignation.