Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday instructed the party workers to collect the information of farmers who lost crops in the recent unseasonal rainfall in order to bring pressure on the government.

Bandi alleged that the crop losses are due to the government’s delay in setting up procurement centres in the state. 

In a teleconference, Bandi Sanjay directed the district BJP presidents, senior leaders and BJP Kisan Morcha leaders to make field visits in the next couple of days and collect the details of various crop losses. 

“Let us submit a representation to the district collectors requesting assistance to affected farmers in the next two days and if there is no response from the government, we shall intensify our agitation,” he said.

Sanjay said the farmers of the state suffered irrecoverable losses due to continuous unseasonal rains and hailstorms. 

“In many places, crops that were about to be harvested were washed away in the rains. Farmers who spent an additional amount of Rs 20,000 per acre on the crops this year suffered heavily due to hailstorm,” said the BJP chief.

He said the plight of tenant farmers was inexplicable as they resorted to heavy borrowings and took land on lease, but were now in deep distress due to crop loss. 

The farmers are being compelled to commit suicide due to crop losses just days before harvesting and the inability to repay debts.

The BJP president said that chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao had failed to fulfil his promise of paying Rs 10,000 per acre to each farmer that had lost crops due to unseasonal rains. “Until now, the farmers have not received a single penny,” he said.

“Had the government opened procurement centres on time, 30 to 40 percent of farmers would not have lost their crops. Due to the delay in opening procurement centres, harvesting was delayed and the crops were washed away in hailstorms,” said Bandi.

Sanjay also appealed to the party leaders and cadres to celebrate the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is to be aired on April 30. “Big television screens in all the assembly constituencies to make sure that people of all sections see the program,” he said.

Source - https://www.siasat.com