TDP demands State government to pay compensation to crops affected by drought

Mulug (Warangal): Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has demanded the State government to pay compensation to the crops affected by drought and declare as entire Warangal district as drought-hit. TDP national secretary Revuri Prakash Reddy, former MLA Seetakka, and party district president G Satyanarayana Rao have visited the dried up agriculture fields under the command area of Ramappa Lake due to lack of water supply from the lake.

Speaking to presspersons after interacting with the affected farmers, Prakash Reddy alleged that irrigation officials have failed to regularise the water supply to 3400 acres of land as per taibandi (restricting cultivating area as per available water resources) in the rabi season.

As a result, nearly 10,000 acres of land was being illegally cultivated, which led to lack of water supply to crops under taibandi. The affected farmers were not in a position to even get their investment back, he said. The TDP leader expressed displeasure over the government failure for not taking up development of Ramappa Lake which was built by Kakatiyas under Mission Kakatiya.

The government was spending money on useless tanks while neglecting important water bodies like Ramappa Lake, he alleged. He alleged that Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao, who was campaigning much about Mission Kakatiya, has failed to look into the sad status of the historic Lake and withered crops in its command area.

It was sad that none of the ministers have cared to visit the crops affected by drought, he lamented. The local farmers torched the standing crop as a mark of protest against the negligence of irrigation officials.