Govt. Unveils Relief Measures

The indefinite hunger strike by the main Oppostion leader and Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu has left the ruling Congress rushing for cover. Addressing a hurriedly called press conference at the Secretariat on Friday, 4 cabinet ministers took upon themselves to defend the government by informing how the government had already initiated a process which would benefit the poor farmers affected by the recent floods.

The cabinet ministers, Kanna Laxminarayana (Housing), Y S Vivekananda Reddy (Agriculture), Doka Manikaya Varaprasada Rao (Rural Development) and Duddilla Sridhar Babu (Civil Supplies), while criticising Naidu's hunger strike, appealed to him to give up the stir in the light of developments that took place to benefit the poor farmers.

They said that Naidu has started his stir to be in the limelight and he had openly announced in the House that he would fight to come back to power. While in power, Naidu had increased the compensation for farmers' suicides to Rs. 10,000, but later termed it as a waste. They also pointed out that Naidu had stated that farmers were committing suicides to claim the compensation, and had then scrapped the compensation within a year.

The ministers charged that Naidu had begun his stir using the farmers' issue as a ploy. They added that he was losing his balance as he himself admitted that farming was a wasteful exercise.

Legislative Affairs and Civil Supplies Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu informed that the government had appointed Special Deputy Collectors in every mandal to supervise at sale counters, which will affect the sale of farmers' produce offering total Minimum Support Price. He said that a GO to this effect had been released, and the Collectors and Joint Collectors had been alerted.

Stating that the government had already written to the Food Corporation of India, Sridhar Babu said that the government had made arrangements for purchase of even discoloured grains/paddy at village centres without value cut.

The sale counters would buy from the farmers even if there was 50% damage to the grains, Sridhar Babu said, and added that this was the criteria specified in the GO. He also appealed to the farmers to rush to the centres in the mandals, and put their grains for sale immediately.

The minister also appealed to them not to lose heart and confidence as the state government would stand by them always. "Our government is a farmers' government," he said.

The Chief Minister had already contacted the FCI and negotiated the bargain for sale of the paddy offering MSP to the farmers, and they should not get discouraged that their produce was soaked or discoloured, the minister said.

The department would set up more centres in case the existing sale counters were found to be insufficient, Sridhar Babu stated, and asked the farmers not to resort to suicides in any event.

"In case of any complaint against the millers, the special Deputy Collectors should be notified, and they would take care of these complaints," he said.

The minister also mentioned that the government would offer MSP on 10% of the grains without any value cut.

In view of these developments, the TDP chief has been appealed to call off his stir immediately.

Courtesy: INN