HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said that it was unfortunate to see those who were supposed to realise the aspiration of the people neglecting their duties and on the other hand targeting those who were working for them. To pull the country out of this situation, he felt that all democratic forces which were working for the welfare of the people need to get organised and overcome the hurdles to achieve a common goal.
Farmers’ union leaders from several states who had come on a tour of Telangana to study the implementation of farmers’ schemes and irrigation in the State, met the Chief Minister at Pragathi Bhavan on Saturday.
The Chief Minister told farmers that as compared to the US, China, or any other country, India was abundant in water, land, and human resources, that 40 crore acres of cultivable lands in the country needed 40,000 tmcft of water, and that 10,000 tmcft water was enough to fulfil the drinking water needs of the entire population.
Despite the availability of 70,000 tmcft of water in the country, he questioned why the people had to suffer due to scarcity of drinking water. Though the country had a capacity to generate 4 lakh MW of power, it was not able to go beyond even 2 lakh MW of power.
Pointing out that despite being a newly formed State, Telangana was able to provide 24 hours free and uninterrupted power supply to its farmers, he questioned why it couldn’t be replicated across the country.
“Is there a forum in any other State where farmers can sit and discuss farming? Though we have power availability and hard-working farmers in the country, why is it that there are agricultural crises and farmers’ suicides,” he wondered.
“Even after 75 years of Independence, successive central governments have not been able to realise the aspirations of the people. Many sections are still waging movements to realise their aspirations. There is a need to understand and debate as to why the governments are not able to find a solution to farmers’ problems and why they are failing in their efforts,” he added.
Ryots watch documentary
The farmers’ leaders were shown a documentary film on the various schemes and efforts made by the State government in the last eight years to shore up the agricultural and irrigation sectors in Telangana.
The farmers’ leaders, who were impressed, told the CM that it would have been great if Telangana’s schemes were implemented in their States as well. They wanted the chief minister to think about the welfare of not only the farmers in Telangana but also the farmers in their States.