Andhra Pradesh - Cuddapah   

Srisailam water for KC Canal, SRBC, Telugu Ganga urged

By Our Staff Reporter

CUDDAPAH, SEPT. 1. The Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham State Secretary and former MLA, K. Ramakrishna, on Wednesday demanded that the Government release water from the Srisailam reservoir to the KC Canal, Srisailam Right Branch Canal and Telugu Ganga project and earmark the Tungabhadra water for Anantapur district.

Addressing a press conference here, the former MLA lamented that the State failed to draw its due share of Tungabhadra water due to sparse fund allocation for the modernisation works on the Tungabhadra High-Level and Low-Level Canals. He demanded maintenance of the Minimum Drawal Down Level (MDDL) of 854 ft. at Srisailam reservoir and scrapping of G.O. 69 of 1996, which proposed reduction of the MDDL to 834 ft.

Moratorium on loans

Groundnut crop was withering away in Cuddapah and Anantapur districts and suicide by farmers continued unabated, but banks were negligent in lending to the farming community, despite orders by the Central Government, Mr. Ramakrishna alleged. Private moneylenders were reluctant to give loans to ryots due to the moratorium announced by the Government, he alleged. The Rythu Sangham leader demanded a two-year moratorium on crop loans taken from commercial banks and suggested constitution of district-level Task Forces to review and monitor reschedulement of loans. Despite the Reserve Bank of India guidelines to reschedule farmers' loans in areas, which were drought-hit for two years out of the last five years, commercial banks were adamant and hardly five per cent of loans were rescheduled so far, he deplored.

Liberal help urged

Of the 4,610 primary agricultural cooperative societies, only 35 were economically viable, 700 existed nominally and others were defunct, Mr. Ramakrishna claimed. Hence, commercial banks should extend liberal assistance to farmers, he said.

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