Nalgonda Ivy gourd farmers seek MSP

Stage dharna at Nalgonda Collectorate

Nalgonda: Farmers who cultivated the ivy gourd demanded Minimum Support Price of Rs 1,200 per quintal for their farm produce and protect them from middlemen.

On Monday, the farmers under the aegis of CPM associated Fruit Gardens Farmers Association dumped their produce on the road and organised a dharna and block the road before the Nalgonda collectorate.

Addressing the farmers, the Association district president Mallu Nagarjuna Reddy and Farmers’ Association state leader Mudireddy Sudhakar Reddy expressed their concern over the looting of farmers of Peddavoora and PA Pally mandal by brokers syndicate.

They criticised the government over the delay in establishing lime market in Nakrekal, Mosambi market in Nalgonda and an Ivy market in PA pally mandal in the district.

Few farmers informed that though the expenditure for cultivation of ivy in pandals per acre was nearly Rs 3 lakhs, the government has been providing only Rs 1 lakh as a subsidy for setting up pandal.

They also informed that they had paid Rs 120 towards labour cost for 50 kg. However, they were getting Rs 50 per bag i.e Rs 1 per kg.

They demanded government to procure the produce to save the famers from the crisis and crack down on brokers. Farmers further demanded the government to implement Swaminathan Committee recommendations to make agriculture a profitable sector.

During the dharna, scuffling took place between farmers and the police. In this protest, farmer leaders K Nagi Reddy, G Linga Reddy, M Kondal, K Mohan Reddy, M Mallaiah, Sailu, Baskar Reddy, Satyanarayana Reddy, large number of farmers from PA Pally and Peddavoora participated.