HYDERABAD: Agriculture Minister Thumala Nageswara Rao announced that the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has sanctioned an additional 40,000 metric tonnes (MT) of urea for Telangana. With this, urea allocations from five incoming vessels have been earmarked for the state.
On Monday, Nageswara Rao met Secretary of the Department of Fertilisers, Rajat Kumar Mishra, in Delhi, urging the Centre to ensure timely allocation and supply of sufficient urea within the next 10 days.
He said Telangana would receive a total of 80,000 MT of urea this week. During the first 15 days of September, the state had already received 1.04 lakh MT. The latest allocation is expected to ease the shortage currently faced by farmers.
“Paddy, maize and cotton — the major crops under cultivation — require large quantities of urea at this stage. The next 10–15 days are crucial. We sought an overall supply of 2 lakh MT this month to offset earlier shortages. So far, 1.04 lakh MT has been supplied. We requested another 1 lakh MT over the next 10 days.
Though domestic production is below expectations, Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra assured that Telangana would be prioritised from imported supplies. Accordingly, 40,000 MT has now been sanctioned in addition to the 40,000 MT already scheduled this week,” the minister said.