SIDDIPET : BRS deputy floor leader in the Assembly and former minister T Harish Rao on Saturday alleged that a 48-year-old farmer, Kanakaiah, from Narayanaraopet, died due to delays in paddy procurement by the state government.
Visiting Narayanaraopet to pay tributes to the deceased, Harish alleged that the government’s failure to procure paddy had led to the tragedy and termed it a “murder by the government”.
“Kanakaiah paid with his life as the government failed to procure the paddy produced by him. This is the result of gross negligence by the rulers. Out of four tractor-loads of soaked paddy taken to a rice mill, 40 bags were treated as waste. He shared his distress with fellow farmers and later died in his sleep following a cardiac arrest,” Harish alleged.
Questioning the government’s claim that 90% of paddy procurement had been completed, Harish alleged that 30% to 40% of the crop was still lying at procurement centres. He further claimed that not a single bag of paddy had been procured in Venkatapur village of Alladurg mandal.