Infusing confidence among the farmers, Finance minister T Harish Rao urged the farmers not to panic over the procurement of summer season paddy harvest. Unlike Modi, Telangana chief minister KCR will not let down the farmers at any cost. He will not see the farmers suffering loss. If the Central government refuses to procure boiled rice, the state government will come to the rescue of farmers, he said.
Already KCR has issued instructions to the State Civil Supplies officials to make all arrangements for paddy procurement. Paddy was raised on 54 lakh acres in Telangana. Last year when the Central government refused to buy boiled rice from Telangana farmers, KCR intervened and sorted out the issue by ordering the state government to procure the same.
The minister speaking at a function in Siddipet district said the Telangana government is giving free power, providing irrigation water, and giving input subsidy in the form of Rythu Bandhu why will it leave the farmers to their fate? KCR proved himself as a pro-farmer leader.
Referring to recent remarks by TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu who said it was his party that taught the Telangana farmers to cultivate paddy who otherwise depended on millets is ridiculous. It only amounted to insulting the Telangana farmers. He should the history of Telangana and then talk rather than talk meaningless. In the combined state paddy was cultivated on 16 lakh acres and in separate Telangana, paddy is being cultivated on 54 lakh acres, he said.
The agricultural sector under the visionary leadership of KCR underwent a radical change and farmers are a happy lot now, Harish Rao said. He wanted the farmers to take up oil palm cultivation too as it has got good demand and the state government was giving subsidies setting aside Rs. 1,000 crores for the purpose.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao.