KARIMNAGAR: Enraged by the delay in procurement of Kharif paddy and the looming uncertainty over what ought to be raised in the Rabi season, farmers of erstwhile Karimnagar district have taken to social media, particularly WhatsApp, to get their queries and concerns across to Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy. With the Rabi season all set to begin and the Kharif one leaving nothing but tears so far, the farmers are at a crossroads and in dire need of some advice from the State government.
In a voice message sent on a WhatsApp group, Mallaiah, a farmer in Jagtial district, asked: “I have made sure that there’s enough water for my crop. I am cultivating mango this time due to the availability of water. But is this the right crop? Making statements sitting in Hyderabad won’t serve any purpose.”
The farmers want the government to take immediate measures on the procurement of paddy that has been harvested in Kharif, which is lying in heaps outside the mills. They also want to know what the marketing assurances of the State were for the Rabi crops that they would raise.
Another farmer, P Tirupati, said, “The Ministers should be aware of the ground realities. They should send officials to our fields and make an assessment of what kind of crop is suitable for us.”In their social media messages, the farmers have asked the State government to tell them in two days if they should continue rasing maize or not. If not, they said they would opt for paddy again and would dump their produce in front of the Collector’s offices after harvesting.
Another farmer, who didn’t wish to be named, took exception to the TRS staging a dharna while being in power in the State. “If you want to fight with the Centre, book trains for the farmers and take them to Delhi,” he said.
Meanwhile, resenting the delay in procurement of paddy and lack of facilities at the IKP centre in Thammara of Kodad, ryots staged a protest by squatting on the Kodad-Khammam highway, bringing the traffic to a standstill on Sunday. The protesters alleged that the officials at the procurement centre were working hand-in-glove with the millers and were not procuring paddy using moisture content as an excuse, and thereby delaying the process.