ANANTAPUR: The district units of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham (APRS) have alleged that the two Ministers from the district had forgotten the promises made to the farmers in the district, after coming to power.

Crop insurance

Talking to newspersons here on Friday, former legislator K. Ramakrishna, deputy secretary of the party, C. Jaffer, and district secretary of APRS, A. Katamaiah, said that Ministers J.C. Diwakar Reddy and N. Raghuveera Reddy, who were in the Opposition during the TDP rule, had in fact opposed the existing crop insurance scheme, which was being implemented with a single change of village as unit in five districts along with Anantapur.

Allegation

But, they were now speaking in support of the crop insurance scheme, knowing well that it would not benefit the district's farmers in the present form, the CPI and APRS leaders alleged.

Discrimination alleged

They noted that farmers in all regions in the State had suffered significant crop losses this year due to heavy and untimely rains. Farmers in a few districts in Coastal Andhra and Telangana, who had suffered heavy loss in paddy and cotton cultivation, had already been paid compensation of Rs. 600 per acre.

But the farmers in Rayalaseema who had cultivated groundnut in some 35 lakh acres, including in about 21 lakh acres in Anantapur, had suffered heavy crop loss but were not given any compensation so far.

Solace to ryots

Only a comprehensive crop insurance scheme without the practice of threshold yield from the last five years' average could provide some solace to the farmers in trouble here, they said.

They sought appropriate changes in the present crop insurance scheme to suit the needs of the district's farmers and compensation to farmers who would be denied any benefit from the scheme due to its guidelines and those who were not covered by the scheme.

The Communist Party of India and Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham would stage a road blockade on all main roads in the district on December 20 and stage dharnas in front of the Mandal Revenue offices in support of their demands, they said.

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