MAHBUBABAD: With rumours spreading thick and fast that purchasing urea will be a difficult task once the ‘Fertiliser Booking App’ is introduced, panic gripped several villages under the Maripeda mandal in Mahbubabad district on Thursday.
Since early morning, hundreds of farmers from Maripeda mandal headquarters and surrounding villages started gathering at the fertiliser depot of Maripeda Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society (PACS) to buy urea for their Rabi crops. As the day progressed, the queue in front of the depot got longer.
Mahbubabad District Agricultural Officer M Vijaya Nirmala, meanwhile, tried to dispel the fears of farmers.
When contacted by TNIE, she said: “There is no shortage of urea in Mahbubabad district. Farmers panicked and rushed to the Maripeda depot because of the false information being spread that it will be difficult to buy urea once the app is introduced here and that there will also be shortage of fertiliser.”
“As of now, the urea bags are being distributed offline in the district. Within two to three days, the ‘Fertiliser Booking Mobile App’ will be introduced here. We have already created awareness on how to use the app among farmers,” she added. It may be mentioned here that the Agriculture department has successfully introduced the mobile phone app-based purchase system on a pilot basis in five districts.