Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday slammed the state government for its failure to take steps for the welfare of farmers despite crops in lakhs of acres withering.
Talking to media persons at NTR Trust Bhavan, Naidu said that crops in 700 mandals in 16 districts have been affected due to severe drought.
Stating that crops spread over 37 lakh acres were damaged, he demanded that the state government declare 700 mandals as drought-hit and take steps to help the affected farmers.
Naidu alleged that both the the Centre and the state government have been ignoring the plight of farmers.
He also criticized the governments for increasing the prices of fertilizers and seeds, thus worsening their financial situation.
He added that rising agriculture costs have forced many farmers to give up their profession.
The TDP chief demanded that the government implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report after discussing the same in Parliament. He said that the restrictions imposed on the export of rice and cotton have forced the farmers to sell their produce at low prices.
Naidu said that he would launch a "Rythu Poru Yatra" from 2 November in the drought-affected mandals. The proposed Yatra will begin on 2 November in Anantapur, and will go to Kadapa on 3 Nov and Kurnool on 4 Nov.
Later, Naidu addressed TDP workers on the occasion of the appointment of Putta Sudhakar Yadav (Kothapalli village, Brahmamgarimatham, Kadapa district) as the Mudukuru constituency in-charge.
At the function, Naidu said that during the TDP's regime, the party had taken up several welfare programs and development activities in Kadapa for the benefit of the poor, but that all those programs were either diluted or abandoned by the present government.
He alleged that all development in Kadapa had been limited to only to the Idupulapaya estate of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, while lakhs of rural poor in the district still struggle for 2 meals a day. (INN)