Telangana BJP leaders urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to sanction funds for helping farmers shift from paddy to other crops, develop more agriculture research institutes, establish a separate cargo terminal at airport for exporting fruits and vegetables, an Indian Institute of Management at Warangal, a digital financial management institute at financial district and so on, during an online interaction with her on Sunday.
Party leaders like vice president Y. Srinivas Reddy, secretary S. Prakash Reddy, Osmania University’s Y.L. Srinivas, Chartered Accountant Vasudeva Rao and others participated in the meeting where they requested her to sanction funds liberally and clear the projects related to agriculture and allied fields as immediate measures for TS in the forthcoming Union budget.
Pointing out that farmers have been facing major problems in paddy cultivation, they wanted steps to be taken to encourage cultivation of oil seeds, pulses and other agriculture products. It was necessary to educate farmers shift from paddy to other crops but a lot of research was needed. Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) institutes and International Crops Research for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) could be made use of to establish R&D centres across the districts, they said.
Setting up of a separate dairy terminal in Shamshabad airpot will allow export of vegetables and other farm products from TS to different foreign countries. Sufficient budget for developing a Tribal University since they constitute 10% of the population, developing infrastructure for the ‘Sammakka- Sarakka Jatara’, developing eco-tourism for handloom centres at Warangal, Dubbaka, Narayanapeta and Gadwal on the lines of recognition is the need of the hour, they informed her.
Nagarjunasagar is one of the oldest Buddhist centres and has been an important tourist destination for people from Japan, China, Sri Lanka and others. Hence, Nagarjuna konda and the environs need to be developed further with infusion of more funds to attract more visitors.
The BJP leaders also requested some funds for establishment of National Disease Control Centre (NDCC) immediately, advancement of digital financial inclusion institute at Gachibowli, and more Navodaya schools, said an official release.
