Ongole: Social Welfare Minister Dr Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy has assured tobacco farmers that the government will provide complete support to them to overcome current market difficulties.

The minister, along with the Santhanuthalapadu MLA BN Vijay Kumar visited the tobacco auction centre at Pernamitta in Ongole on Tuesday.

During their visit, they enquired about tobacco purchases from board officials and interacted with farmers and tobacco farmers’ leaders about the challenges they face, particularly regarding pricing issues.

Speaking to the media, Minister Swamy expressed concern about the high number of ‘no bids’, which are causing significant hardship to farmers. He said that tobacco purchases in Karnataka have concluded, emphasising the need to expedite the buying process in the region. He specifically highlighted the problem of frequent rejections of lower-grade tobacco and promised that measures would be taken to ensure farmers receive fair treatment.

To address these issues, the minister announced plans to arrange a meeting with buyers to discuss the ‘no bid’ situation and pricing concerns, with the goal of reaching an appropriate resolution. He reminded that the government had previously stood by farmers during pricing crises and assured that they would once again take all necessary steps to prevent farmers from incurring losses.