• The decision of crop holiday is the result of Govt’s negligence and inaction towards the farming community
• Janasena will support Konaseema farmers
Because of the YCP Government’s negligence and mistakes, the situation of crop holiday is prevailing today in the Konaseema which is known as the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh. They won’t clear the arrears to the farmers who sold their paddy. The government is not paying attention to the works such as repairs, desilting and strengthening the canal embankments. They won’t give the price for discoloured paddy. Under these difficult situations, the farming community has taken a decision not to go for paddy cultivation. It is so painful that such pathetic situations have been repeated after around 11 years. The farmers of Konaseema are writing letters to the government they can’t raise paddy crops in the first season. They have taken a decision of crop holiday under the aegis of KonaseemaRythuParirakshana Samithi. Any government schemes are meant for the farmers, who are feeding the people. Such food-feeding peasants have made it clear that they can’t cultivate the crops. We can understand how the situation is so serious. Announcing the crop holiday will occur very rarely.
As far as my knowledge, it happened once in 2011 when the farmers announced a crop holiday on around 1.5 lakh acres. The decision of the farmers of Godavari districts has shivered the whole nation. The leaders of about 13 national parties had arrived in Konaseema and knew the issues of the farmers. They made some guidelines to avoid such situations in future.
Now, the same situation prevailed after 11 years. The crop holiday has been announced by the farmers in 25,000 acres in Allavaram, I Polavaram, Mummadivaram and Uppalagupthammandals, 20,000 acres in Amalapuram rural, Mamidikuduru, Katrenikona and Sakhinetipalli mandals and some hundreds of acres in Kadiyammandal. How the situation is degraded to such a level as the crop holiday has been announced in around 50,000 acres.
• Out of fear they deposited money overnight
The mistakes committed by the YCP are the reason for the crop holiday announced by the farming community. The government did not pay the money to the farmers for the paddy purchased during the rabi season. There are around Rs 475 crores of arrears. Soon after the farmers declared the crop holiday, the government announced that they deposited Rs 139 crore over the night. There are many problems in getting irrigation water in the mandals where the crop holiday has been announced. The government did not take up repairs for drains and canals. It did not show any interest to take up works of desiltation and strengthening of canal embankments. Usually, there may be heavy rains and natural calamities during the first crop. The government is not paying a support price if the paddy got discoloured. The prime demand coming from the farmers is an abnormal hike in labour wages. They want linkage of the National Employment Assurance scheme with agriculture. Though the demand is long pending, it has not been realised. Only the government’s haphazard decisions and adamant attitude have made the situation too worse for the farming community.
• YCP leaders making cheap criticism
The criticism by the YCP leaders against the farmers who declared crop holiday is flimsy and lacked any substance. They have abused the building workers too when they came onto the roads alleging there is a dearth in the sand. They said the tenth-class students got failed because of the improper guidance by their parents. When the girl’s modesty is outraged, they blamed the mother for not nurturing her properly. They also made such comments when the employees took up agitation seeking fulfilment of assurances given by the government alleging that they did not have responsibility. They only look at every issue from a political angle and did not have a mentality to resolve the issues. It is painful that the YCP leaders made the criticism from a political angle the farming community for announcing a crop holiday. Janasena Party will extend support to farming brothers, tenant farmers and farm labourers. It will fight till the farmers get justice by exerting pressure on the government.
