Rescue farmers from floods: Chandrababu Naidu

Amaravati: Launch immediate rescue and compensation efforts to save the lives and properties of the farmers who have been suffering with frequent floods in the State, urged the Leader of Opposition and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu in a letter addressing the Chief Secretary Nilam Sahwney on Monday.

Naidu stressed the immediate need for ensuring remunerative prices for the crops of farmers so as to help them tide over the debts. The Government's assistance was immediately needed considering the fact that the farmers were steeped in financial crisis due to Coronavirus infections and also economic lockdowns. The flood damages are causing greater losses in agriculture.

He demanded the Government to take up immediate preventive measures and launch relief efforts because of heavy rains in Godavari districts and floods in the Krishna river. Heavy rains have caused flooding in low lying areas and crops were submerged in many places. Despite this, there were no preventive steps by the Government anywhere. There were no efforts to rescue the families which were badly hit, he observed.

The TDP supremo said that there was a need to repay the damaged houses while creating work opportunities for the poor families who were in financial crisis in Coronavirus time. All help should be given till the poor families regain financially and stand on their own for earning their livelihoods.

Stating that farmers lost heavily in Krishna and Godavari floods in the past, the TDP chief said that the Government has not given compensation to crop losses till now. Moreover, the farmers faced greater losses due to increased costs of inputs while not being able to get remunerative prices for their produce. It was unfortunate that such adverse conditions have led to suicide by over 1,029 farmers last year in Andhra Pradesh, he said. The State has reached 3rd place in farmers' suicides in the country now, Naidu added.