Congress Asks Government To Buy Chilli At Rs 12000

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N Uttam Kumar Reddy today demanded that the state government immediately procure mirchi (chilli) at the rate of Rs 12,000 per quintal to bail out the one lakh plus farmers who were badly hit due to the falling prices.

Speaking to mediapersons after visiting the affected farmers in Medicheruvu mandal of Suryapet district on Saturday, Reddy said that the chilli farmers of Telangana were in severe crisis due to low market prices for their produce.

He strongly condemned the state government for completely ignoring the plight of the farmers, and said that the officials did not intervene to get a proper Minimum Support Price for the chilli crop.

He pointed out that the state government, through the Department of Agricultural Economics, PJTSAU, Hyderabad, had issued a forecast, at the time of harvesting in February-March 2017, that the chilli price per quintal would be around Rs. 11,000-11,400. This encouraged more than one lakh farmers to cultivate chilli instead of cotton expecting high prices.

As against in 70,000 acres last year, this year the crop was cultivated in nearly 2 lakh acres.

However, the prices were now hovering around Rs 5,000 per quintal, causing huge losses to the farmers.

In some cases, he said that the traders were buying chilli at even Rs 4,500 per quintal.

Market officials were refusing to buy chilli citing sufficient stock in cold storages, he said, leading to hardships for thousands of farmers.

The TRS government in the State and BJP-led NDA government at the Centre were both paying no attention to the problems being faced by the farmers, he said. He accused the state government of not waking up from its slumber despite hundreds of farmers resorting to protests at various places, including the infamous incident two days back when chilli farmers burnt their crops in front of the Enumamula, Kothagudem and Khammam chilli market yards as a mark of protest for not getting proper prices.

However the Congress would launch a mass agitation to get a proper MSP for the chilli farmers, he said. Dharnas would be organised in all headquarters of Assembly constituencies where chilli was grown, on April 3, and a representation would to be given to the Tahsildars demanding that the state government buy mirchi immediately at Rs. 12,000 per quintal.

The TPCC chief said that the Congress party would intensify its agitation if the state and central governments failed to come to the rescue of the chilli farmers on a war footing.