Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said steps have been initiated in that direction and purchasing 1,000 mw from Chhattisgarh is a part of it.
Chandrasekhar Rao flew to Chhattisgarh on Sunday afternoon to sign an MoU with the government there for purchasing 1,000 mw of power.
The MoU will be signed on Monday. As a part of this tour, Chandrasekhar Rao interacted with progressive farmers in Kohadiya village of Bemetara district in Chhattisgarh.
KCR said Chhattisgarh is able to give power 24 hours a day, but no such situation prevails in Telangana.
“We have initiated measures for producing 16,000 mw in the next three years, after which we too can give power round the clock to our people,” he said.
Farmers Praised
“There is much to learn from Chhattisgharh farmers. If adequate power supply is ensured, our farmers too would prosper. Telangana has favourable climatic conditions, different types of fertile soil and good rainfall, which are conducive to agriculture, particularly for growing seeds. We cultivate paddy in one lakh acres in Warangal and Karimnagar districts and those paddy seeds are used even in Chhattisgarh. We intend to make Telangana the Seed Bowl of India,” he said.
The Telangana chief minister opined that for the farmers in the country to get remunerative price for their produce, import of food grains from other countries should be stopped. “Central government as well as all state governments have to give a serious thought in this regard,” he said.
Expressing concern over food grain growers not getting remunerative prices, he said countries like China are achieving surplus food grain production and exporting it to our country is one of the reasons for our farmers failing to get remunerative prices.
“If the situation has to change, then import of food grains, which are also grown in our country, should stop. There is shortage of food grains on one hand and on the other, farmers are not getting remunerative prices. To change that, farmers should adopt modern technology and cultivation technics for achieving higher yields,” he said.
Heaping praise over Chhattisgarh farmers for leading from the front in implementing modern cultivation techniques and achieving high yields, KCR said he too is a farmer and does cultivation in Medak district.
Stating Chhattisgarh farmers are a wonder, KCR said he was surprised to learn that the yield of 80 tonne of capsicum and 420 quintals of Chilli per acre.
Learning Visit
Citing the example of Israel and China achieving surplus agricultural production, he said Chhattisgarh farmers too are following the same path. Stating that farmers in Ankapur village in Nizamabad too are achieving wonders, he said he will send farmers from Telangana to Chhattisgarh to learn and replicate their success in their own fields.
On the occasion, he advised Chhattisgarh to develop infrastructure for international flights and cargo handling in Raipur, so that the agriculture produce of the state can be exported to other parts of the country.
The chief minister wished both Telangana and Chhattisgarh export food grains to places where production is less. Chandrasekhar Rao also stressed the importance of green house cultivation and micro-irrigation methods.
Source: The New Indian Express