The farmers of Khammam face a bizarre predicament - the government refuses to provide a farmer with more than just 1 packet of cotton seeds, regardless of the number of acres of farmland the ryot owns.
A severe shortage in the supply of cotton seeds - a fact condemned by opposition parties and denied by the ruling party - has resulted in this problem.
The farmers lament that only 10,000 bags of cotton seeds have been delivered for the district, when 1 lakh bags are required. The agriculturists question as to what one owning more than an acre of farmland must do, and they protested against the shortage of seeds.
According to sources, no local authority reacted to the farmers' protests. The Khammam police alone responded by trying to water down the protests.
It has been reported that a packet of cotton seeds is priced between Rs. 1,800 and Rs. 2,000 in the black market, and that farmers are being forced to purchase seeds at these exorbiant rates due to the acute shortage of seeds at governmental centres.
A politico belonging to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had stated that either the seeds were being auctioned off to the highest bidder among the ryots, or the farmers were being supplied with seeds based on pure luck (the lucky dip sytem is believed to have been implemented at some seed distribution centres).
While the farmers and opposition parties cry foul over the deficit of cotton seeds, the Congress remains nonchalant and denies any shortage.