Harish Rao demands ₹5,000 per acre input subsidy as immediate relief to ryots

BRS leaders T. Harish Rao and Sunitha Laxma Reddy interact with farmers in Narsapur, Medak district, on Friday.

Former minister and Deputy Floor Leader of BRSLP T. Harish Rao examined paddy fields withered due to lack of water for irrigation and quality power supply in Chilipiched and Hathnoora mandals of Narsapur constituency on Friday.

He was accompanied by Narsapur MLA V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy, Sangareddy MLA Chintha Prabhakar and other local leaders of the party. They spoke to farmers in the dried fields.

Speaking later, Mr. Harish Rao alleged, “Rains came, the rivers filled, yet the crops withered as the government failed to switch on the motors of irrigation projects such as Kaleshwaram, Palamuru-Rangareddy, Devadula and others in time”. The BRS was ready to prove it with documents in the next session of the Assembly.

“BRS Government constructed Devadula so that water could be lifted round-the-clock to lift 50 tmc ft to 60 tmc ft by operating all 10 motors”, he said. However, the government started operating a maximum of 8 motors at a time very late in the season, and they were run only for eight hours a day, resulting in a total lifting of water of only 18 tmc ft so far. In case of Kalwakurthy lift only about 14 tmc ft of water was lifted until now against the possibility of 60 tmc ft.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy allowed the crops to go dry in his home district as he planned to allow Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to take the Krishna water to Kuppam, 700 km away, Mr. Harish Rao alleged.

He demanded the government to announce ₹5,000 an acre as input subsidy immediately for the crop lost in 25 lakh acres as Maharashtra and Karnataka have done, to open paddy procurement centres, clear farm loans and stop banks from adjusting pensions, housing bills and paddy payments against crop loans.