Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday sought the farmers not to panic over the dismal situation on the rain front and said that the government would stand by them at all times to salvage their crops.
Mr. Naidu had a whirlwind visit of villages in Gudupalle, Shantipuram, Punganur and Kurabalakota mandals of Madanapalle revenue division, interacting with farmers and instructing agriculture and irrigation officials to monitor the use of rain guns in the fields round the clock. He inspected the groundnut crops and the ‘Panta Sanjivani’ sites in the villages.
Addressing people at Kuravapalle village of Aredigunta panchayat of Punganur mandal, Mr. Naidu said that in order to protect the crops from deficit rains, the government had already purchased over 15,000 rain guns and deployed them in vulnerable villages. He maintained that it was for the first time in the country that a State had initiated a massive effort to use technology for protection of crops.
He told the farmers that Group I and IAS officers would be drafted at the mandal and constituency levels to monitor the rain gun exercises. Mr. Naidu blamed the Congress party for the dismal scenario on the agriculture front during the last one decade. He said that in view of the welfare schemes launched the farmers should not resort to extreme steps such as committing suicide.
The Chief Minister said that the problems faced by the tomato farmers had become perennial. After interacting with farmers at Mudivedu village of Kurabalakota mandal near Madanapalle, Mr. Naidu said that he would study the possibility of introducing schemes to provide remunerative prices to tomato farmers.
