TPCC chief demands bonus for paddy, maize farmers

Lack of remunerative price is main reason for farmer suicides: Uttam Kumar Reddy

Hyderabad: TPCC President N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday demanded the Telangana State government provide Rs 200 bonus per quintal to the farmers who cultivated paddy and maize and Rs 500 for the cotton farmers for every bale.

Participating in the debate in the State Assembly, the Congress leader said that lack of remunerative price to the agricultural produce was one of the main reasons for increasing number of farmer suicides in the State. Input cost multiplied but the MSP remained the same in the last three years.

Uttam Kumar said that the agricultural production was also reduced in Telangana State due to lopsided policies adopted by the TRS government. Meagre allocations for research in the farming worsened the situation, he said. The contribution of universities and agricultural scientists for the development of farming sector was nil this year.

The Congress leader appealed the government to provide ex-gratia to all the bereaved families of the farmers who committed suicides. The official records show that 1,400 farmers committed suicide in Telangana State.

Demanding extension of crop insurance to the farmer as a unit in place of a village, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the country achieved self-sufficiency in food grain production under the Congress regime. The NDA government led by BJP at the Centre and TRS government in the State failed to protect the interest of the farmers leading to the scarcity of food grains, he said.