Former Telangana Congress committee president Ponnala Lakshmaiah has ridiculed the State government and the TRS for celebrating Rythu Bandhu programmes when farmers were committing suicides in hordes with no support coming from the government.
Mr. Lakshmaiah alleged that the TRS government has turned insensitive, to say the least, to celebrate Rythu Bandhu while turning a blind eye to the increasing deaths of farmers who were resorting to the extreme step hit by nature’s vagaries. “The government that should rescue farmers is nowhere to be seen while taking shelter under the Rythu Bandhu umbrella claiming that the scheme was the panacea for all ills,” he said.
The former PCC chief cited several unkept promises of the TRS government like the farm loan waiver and guarantee for support price. The poll promise of farm loan waiver is forgotten while the plight of tenant farmers is totally ignored as if they don’t exist, he alleged.
“This government has never paid compensation for farm losses due to heavy rains or drought and there is no crop insurance to give some succour to farmers to fall back upon. Bank loans are denied to them as the government failed to release the farm loan instalments and farmers were forced to borrow from private lenders at high interest rate,” he claimed.
Mr. Lakshmaiah said previous governments always responded immediately whenever farmers were in crisis due to nature’s vagaries and they were extended financial support. The genuine farmers used to get benefit if their crops were lost. Now, Rythu Bandhu is extended to rich farmers and those who don’t do farming at all.
