40k farmers ended lives during KCR's rule: Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad: Expressing concern over rising farmer suicides in the state, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday asked the state government to bail out Chilli farmers who incurred huge losses due to crop failure.

In a letter to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, TPCC President pointed out that there has been an alarming rise in farmer suicides across Telangana in the past three to four months. On average, 5-10 farmers are taking their own lives every day due to the loss of crops, he said.

"Paddy farmers of Telangana were already facing a pathetic situation. Now the suicides by Chili farmers have worsened the agricultural crisis in the State. This year Chilli was cultivated on 3,58,557 acres in Khammam, Mahabubabad, Kottagudem, Warangal Urban, Warangal Rural, Nalgonda, and Suryapeta districts," said Revanth Reddy.

TPCC Chief said farmers invested about Rs. 1 lakh per acre and expected good returns. "However, their crops were destroyed by Thrips Parvispinous, an invasive insect from Indonesia which was first seen in 2015. Consequently, as against the expected yield of 25-30 quintals per acres, the yield was less than five quintals causing huge losses to the farmers, he said on average, that each Chili farmer has accumulated a debt of Rs. 5-10 lakh. The situation of tenant farmers has become even worse," he said.

He said most of the farmers who committed suicide were aged around 35 years. These suicides must be prevented immediately by taking measures on a war-footing basis, he demanded.

TPCC Chief alleged that the farmers were not finding any assistance from the state government. Instead of adopting a realistic approach, the TRS government is giving a false impression that farmers were witnessing prosperity. Such false claims and lack of endorsement for the losses were forcing the farmers to lose faith in the authorities and slip into a state of depression with few of them taking their own lives, he alleged.

Revanth said that the Chief Minister has been asking paddy farmers to go for alternate crops. "But so far he did nothing to help the crisis-hit Chili farmers. What is the guarantee that farmers will get the required assistance from the government if they go for an alternate crop other than paddy?" he asked.

TPCC President pointed out that over 40,000 farmers have committed suicide during the seven-and-a-half-year rule of CM KCR.

"The majority of farmers did not even receive any compensation. Revanth urged the Chief Minister to send a team of ministers to the affected districts to take stock of the situation and give assurance to Chili farmers. Besides declaring compensation for the Chili farmers who lost their crops, the government also should announce Rs 10 lakh compensation to the families of farmers who have committed suicide", he demanded.

He said farmers should be supplied with seeds and fertilizers free of cost for their next crop and the Rs. "Rs 1 lakh debt waiver scheme must be implemented without further delay," he said.