Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MLA Jupally Krishna Rao said around 1,600 farmers were electrocuted in the last six years in Mahbubnagar district alone.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Krishna Rao demanded that the State government come out with a policy on paying ex-gratia to the kin of these farmers. “Thousands of farmers, including in Andhra and Telangana, died of electric shocks. Their families should be given `5 lakh ex-gratia. As a minister, I had raised the issue in the first district collectors’ conference when YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the chief minister,” Krishna Rao said and added that unfortunately, no chief minister was bothered about this.
He said that just 100 out of the 1,600 farmers in Mahbubnagar were given ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each. Deaths due to electric shock were reported in Mahbubnagar three days back too, he said.