Hours after a sudden spell of unseasonal rain lashed parts of the old undivided Warangal and Karimnagar districts in the early hours of Tuesday, irate farmers staged sit-in protests in Manthani of Peddapalli district and Ghanapuram of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district demanding immediate procurement of the rain-soaked paddy to alleviate their woes.
A group of farmers dumped their paddy bags on the highway at Ghanapuram to press for speedy procurement of their paddy produce to mitigate the losses due to unseasonal rains.
One of them set ablaze a small heap of paddy in a symbolic protest against alleged exploitation by middlemen in connivance with errant rice millers.
Expressing solidarity with the agitating farmers, Bhupalpally constituency Congress party in-charge Gandra Satyanarayana Rao and a host of other leaders squatted on the highway along with the protesters for some time.
In Manthani, agitated farmers staged a demonstration in front of the Agricultural Market Committee in protest against alleged slow pace of paddy procurement at the designated paddy purchase centre.
They alleged that the delay in paddy procurement was subjecting them to untold hardships with unseasonal rains aggravating their woes.
