Actor Sonu Sood has done it again. He tweeted on Sunday that he would be sending a tractor to a farmer from Mahalrajuvari Palle village in KV Palle mandal, 20 km from Piler.
The actor tweeted in response to a video clip showing a farmer and his wife sowing groundnut seeds, while his two teenage daughters tilling the land by carrying the yoke on their shoulders.
According to information, V. Nageswara Rao, who was running a tea stall at Madanapalle town before the outbreak of COVID-19, came to his native village of Mahalrajuvari Palle village. Several media reports claimed that the family returned to the village in view of the pandemic.
Mr. Rao’s ageing parents live in the village and own a small piece of land. He reportedly decided to cultivate groundnut crop.
Mr. Rao told the media that he could manage the tilling of land with the help of his wife and daughters. His daughters said that the family had been living in Madanapalle for nearly two decades, and that they had come to the village a month ago. With the climate congenial for sowing, and not much time left for mechanised ploughing, they decided to do it by themselves.
However, the video went viral on the social media and Mr. Sood, after watching the video, promised the family a tractor.
Meanwhile, the actor’s tweet caught the attention of the government officials at Amaravati. On Sunday, Mr. Sood made two tweets. The first one said: “By tomorrow morning, he (farmer) will have a pair of ox to plough the fields. Let the girls focus on their education.” In another tweet, the actor said: “The family doesn’t deserve a pair of ox. They deserve a tractor. So sending you one. By evening, a tractor will be ploughing your fields. Stay blessed.”
Responding to the episode, KV Palle Mandal Parishad Development Officer S. Manohar Raju, however, said after being alerted by the officials at the Secretariat, he had verified the facts.
A voluntary act: MPDO
“The media reports that the family is impoverished and could not afford to engage oxen or a tractor to plough the field is absolutely false. The family voluntarily did it. I was informed that the family wanted to have the experience as a sweet memory. The family have confessed that they never expected the issue would take such a turn,” he said, adding that the family came to their native village for a temporary stay.