The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Congress unmindful of farmers’ plight: TDP

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Sunday, Jul 08, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Congress unmindful of farmers’ plight: TDP

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party (TDPP) leader K. Yerran Naidu on Saturday regretted that even if bountiful of rain favoured farmers in Andhra Pradesh, the Centre and State were ‘least bothered’ about them.

At a press conference here, he said in the past three years of Congress rule in the State, 4,222 farmers had taken their lives, unable to bear the strain. Of the reported Indian average of six farmers committing suicide everyday, the State contributed 50 per cent, he alleged.

In debt trap

Mr. Naidu lashed out at Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy saying: “He speaks about everything else except agriculture.” With no loans from the Government forthcoming, poor farmers were taking loans from ‘unscrupulous’ private money lenders and getting caught in debt trap. Poor quality and spurious seed, low yield, unsatisfactory minimum support price and no crop insurance were making them take the last resort, he said.

He accused the Government of being ‘lazy’ and ‘ineffective’ and said even those farmers who had paid up their insurance premium in 2006 were yet to be compensated.

Mr. Naidu condemned the recent arrest of K. Narayana, CPI State secretary, and other senior party leaders in West Godavari district and their remand for 15 days.

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