The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) staged a ‘maha dharna’ in association with the CPI, Lok Satta, RSP, All India Forward Bloc and their affiliated farmers’ organisations here on Monday on problems being faced by the farming community.
TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu and CPI State secretary K. Narayana and other leaders were arrested by the police after dharna as they tried to march towards Secretariat. They were later released on personal sureties.
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Speaking at the protest, Mr. Naidu alleged that anti-farmer policies of the State and Central governments and their neglect of agriculture sector had resulted in crisis. Farmers were being forced to think about alternative vocations as cultivation had become un-remunerative due to lack of encouragement from the governments.
He stated that implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations alone would revive the agriculture sector, which had become un-remunerative due to heavy increase in the input costs. “Fixing minimum support price (MSP) for all agriculture produce with 50 per cent profit over expenditure in raising crops as suggested by Prof. Swaminathan will bail out the farming sector”, the former Chief Minister said.
The farmers were taking to streets due to short-supply of seed and fertiliser but the government was unmoved by their plight. The government had not resolved the scarcity except issuing statements. Farmers were turning to private moneylenders as institutional credit had not reached even 10 per cent of them, Mr. Naidu noted.
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The TDP president demanded separate budget for agriculture.
Criticising the government for not supplying assured power to farm sector, Dr. Narayana said crops dried up in over 5 lakh acres last year due to erratic power supply was an ample proof of the problem. He demanded that the government to restore lands snatched from farmers in the name of industries and special economic zones as the companies were doing real estate business with the lands.