Khammam: Farmers under the banner of the Telangana Rythu Sangham staged a protest in front of the Khammam District Cooperative Central Bank (DCCB) on Monday, demanding that the state government resolve problems related to the urea booking mobile application and restore the old system of fertiliser distribution.

The protesters urged the government to allow farmers to purchase urea directly from primary agricultural cooperative societies and authorised dealers, as was done earlier. They also demanded that elections be conducted to Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS).

Addressing the gathering, Telangana Rythu Sangham district secretary Bonthu Rambabu said the current app-based fertiliser booking system was causing serious difficulties to farmers.

He alleged that supplying urea in instalments based on landholding size was adversely affecting crop yields. As per the present system, farmers with up to three acres receive urea in two instalments, those with three to five acres in three instalments, and farmers with more than five acres in four instalments.

Rambabu said illiterate farmers and those without smartphones were facing severe hardship under the app-based system. He demanded that the government revert to the earlier method, allowing farmers to directly procure urea from societies and dealers without digital barriers.

District president Madineni Ramesh alleged that the state government was avoiding elections to cooperative societies and instead nominating Congress workers. He demanded that elections be held to PACS and DCCBs, which play a crucial role in providing crop loans, seeds, fertilisers and procurement of paddy from farmers.

Several leaders, including former DCCB directors Tata Bhaskar Rao, SK Meera and Vasireddy Prasad, former Gopavaram Society chairman Koppula Krishnayya, Agricultural Workers’ Union district president Meragu Satyanarayana, CITU district vice-presidents Bhukya Srinivasa Rao and Erra Srinivasa Rao, and others participated in the protest.