Rajgopal Reddy apologises to farmers over procurement delays in Telangana
Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy admitted that delays in crop procurement caused hardships to farmers and apologised on behalf of the Telangana government. He assured that procurement would be completed within 10 days and said storage arrangements were being expanded
Nalgonda: In an embarrassment to the State government, Munugode Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy on Monday admitted that delays in crop procurement had caused hardships to farmers and apologised to them on behalf of the government.
Speaking to media persons, Rajgopal Reddy said farmers were forced to wait at procurement centres for nearly 15 days. He described the situation as unprecedented and said everyone was concerned over the difficulties faced by farmers. He assured that the Congress government remained committed to farmers’ welfare and promised that the procurement process would be completed within the next 10 days. “I am giving my word on this,” he said.
The MLA attributed the delay to an unexpected surge in crop yield this season. According to him, production was nearly three times higher than what the government had anticipated.
Following complaints from farmers over a shortage of storage space, Rajgopal Reddy inspected a warehouse at Choutuppal. He said the government was making all necessary arrangements to speed up procurement and store the stocks safely. He stated that private warehouses were also being identified in some areas to store the procured grain. If required, the government would press private warehouse operators into service to handle the excess stock, he added.
Rajgopal Reddy appealed to farmers to cooperate with the government and understand the situation. He also acknowledged that opposition parties had supported farmers over the procurement delays. “The government does not want to politicise an issue related to farmers,” he said, adding that procurement would be completed within 10 days with the support of farmers and opposition parties.
