ONGOLE: Ongole dairy employees and farmers staged a dharna in front of Forests and Environment Minister Sidda Raghava Rao’s residence here on Friday. The dairy employees and farmers arrived at his residence around 10 am. But, the Minister had to go out on some urgent work. The dejected employees and farmers sat under a tree in front of the Minister’s house and waited for him patiently. When the Minister arrived around 3 pm, heated arguments were exchanged between the former and K Venkaiah, who was leading the agitation.
The Minister promised the agitators that the government will reimburse the pending bills of farmers and employees. He said that he and district in-charge minister P Narayana will meet Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday to discuss the issue. The agitators withdrew the agitation after the assurance of the Minister. Farmers V Rama Rao and Sk Mabu and CPI (ML) leader S Lalitha Kumari took part in the agitation.