While Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy unveiled the fortnight-long Racha Banda, the official village chaupal meetings, opposition leader Nara Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated his party’s farmers awareness programme on Wednesday.
Launching the Racha Banda programme at Jaggampeta in east Godavari district, the Chief Minister announced several welfare measures aimed at farmers such as pensions and ration cards.
The programme, the second since he took over the reigns in the state in November 2010, would in effect provide sops worth Rs 3,500 per farmer during the state-wide 15-day campaign.
Launching his Rythu Poru Bata ( farmers awareness campaign), Naidu was keen to score over the government’s failure in the farming sector, particularly during the current Kharif season.
Addressing farmers at Basampalle village in Anantapur during his Rythu Poru Bata padayatra, the TDP President pointed out that farmers in the district had just one decent yield in the last seven years. He accused the Congress government of flip-flopping over giving drought relief despite being aware of the grave situation.
Earlier, Chandrababu Naidu launched the party program at CC Kotha Kota in Puttaparthi mandal on Wednesday morning and participated in a 17 kms walk from CC Kotha Kota up to Kotha Cheruvu, talking to farmers on issues that affected them during the Kharif season such as remunerative prices to their produce, crop losses due to disasters and power failure, fertilizer shortage etc.
Asking the farmers to agitate for their rights he said the TDP has launched the Rythu Poru Bata program since the Congress government in the state has been indifferent to their problems.
Naidu demanded the government to pay Rs 10,000 per acre in compensation to farmers whose crops were damaged this Kharif due to power cuts and rain deficits.
He also demanded implementation of Prof Swaminathan committee recommendations on MSP and interest free crop loans.