ADILABAD/HYDERABAD : Just a day after chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had claimed in the Assembly that his government had implemented the loan waiver scheme in toto, about 275 farmers from five villages in Jainath and Adilabad mandals staged a protest near Telangana Grameena Bank in Adilabad on Thursday, alleging that their loans were not waived completely. The Congress, which said it would provide details of farmers whose loans were waived but not the interest within 10 days, launched a drive across the state asking farmers to send their loan grievances. Parigi MLA T Rammohan Reddy even produced documents pertaining to non-payment of crop loan interest in the case of two farmers in his constituency.
In Adilabad, the 275-odd farmers protested at the bank against the interest dues despite government’s claim of waiver. They said bank managers had told them that the loans of 2013 would be waived after the government announced the waiver scheme in 2014. The government deposited loan amounts in farmers’ bank accounts and the banks issued fresh loans to farmers. But banks started pressuring these 275 farmers for repayment since the government had failed to deposit the loan amounts since 2014.
“I took a loan of `90,000 in 2013. Now it has swelled to `1.40 lakh and the bank is forcing me to repay,’’ said a farmer. The farmers met district collector Budha Prakash M Jyoti and district minister Jogu Ramanna but nothing happened.
In Hyderabad, Parigi MLA Rammohan Reddy said two farmers _ Deshmukh Chandra Bhupal Rao of Mujahidpur village in Kulkacherla mandal and Vanajamma Janupala of Dongaenukupally in Rangareddy district _ were being asked by banks to repay the interest which was not paid by the government as claimed by the chief minister.
Two debt-ridden farmers end lives
Khammam/Warangal: Two debt-ridden farmers ended their lives in the state on Thursday in separate incidents. In Khammam, a 43-year-old farmer from Udatalagudem village consumed pesticide in his field. Balena Mallaiah cultivated cotton and chilly in six acres and ran into debts of `6 lakh. Unable to bear the pressure from money lenders, he consumed pesticide on Wednesday night. Meanwhile in Warangal, a 60-year-old cotton farmer committed suicide due to crop loss and debt burden in Vangaphad village on Thursday. According to police, K. Ilaiah had sown cotton in his 15 guntas and in another 2 acres which he took on lease but lost the crop. Ilaiah took a loan of ` 1.7 lakh from money lenders. Unable to repay the loan, he ended his life.