VIJAYAWADA: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday demanded that the State government provide immediate relief to the Mandous cyclone affected people. In a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, Naidu said standing crops in lakhs of acres were badly damaged in Anantapur, Kadapa, Annamayya, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna and West Godavari districts, causing heavy loss to farmers.
Mentioning that the dues to the farmers for the farm produce sold last year have not been cleared yet, the TDP chief said traders are not paying the Minimum Support Price claiming that the humidity percentage is more in the grain.
The State government announced to purchase only 37 lakh metric tonnes of farm produce this year though the expected yield is more than 90 lakh metric tonnes, he pointed out. The Opposition Leader demanded that the government ensure availability of adequate number of gunny bags and payment of money to the farmers soon after the purchase of farm produce, besides clearance of old dues.
Tobacco farmers of Prakasam and Nellore districts had suffered huge losses due to heavy rains. The natural calamities had resulted in losses to the tune of `15,000 crore to the farmers in the last three years. “But the government has never made any efforts to come to the rescue of affected farmers,” he alleged.
The TDP chief also demanded that a compensation of `20,000 per acre for damaged paddy and `50,000 per acre for commercial crops be paid, besides taking steps to safeguard the interests of affected tenant farmers.