Congress wants government to announce MSP for turmeric

Hyderabad: Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has demanded that the Centre and State governments buy turmeric at a minimum support price and take immediate action to set up the Turmeric Board.

"The BJP at the Centre and the TRS government in the State are playing tricks and blaming each other and causing trouble to the farmers, the Congress leader said, demanding that the two governments immediately focus on the plight of farmers and support them by providing the minimum support price for the turmeric crop.

This year, the farmers had cultivated turmeric in 40,624 acres in Nizamabad, 26,165 acres in Nirmal, 34,078 acres in Jagtial, 16,739 in Warangal rural, 1,766 acres in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally and 10,234 acres in Mahabubabad districts. As there is no fixed MSP, the farmers are unable to sell their harvest for a reasonable price. They are worried that the price for a quintal of turmeric which was Rs 15,000 eight years ago was now not even selling for Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000, pushing them into losses.