HYDERABAD: BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy on Friday alleged that farmers across the state were facing severe hardships due to “failures and negligence” of the Congress government.
Maheshwar was addressing the media at the state BJP office after a four-day tour of districts, during which he, along with other BJP leaders, interacted with farmers at paddy procurement centres as part of the “Rythu Ghosa, BJP Bharosa” yatra.
“Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy claims that 80 per cent of paddy procurement has been completed in the state. But during our visits to procurement centres, we found heaps of unsold paddy, exposed to the elements, at those centres,” he said. The Nirmal MLA also claimed that only after the BJP intensified its protests did the state government begin conducting reviews and district-level visits to address the procurement issues. “Had ministers conducted these reviews and field visits earlier, farmers would not have suffered,” he remarked.
Maheshwar also sought to know why the government failed to arrange transportation facilities in advance despite stopping sand and cement lorries earlier for other purposes. “Farmers are being forced to purchase gunny bags, and also bear transport expenses and hamali charges. It is nothing but exploitation of farmers’ hard work,” he added.