AP in 2nd place in tenant farmers suicides as per NCRB
Govt focus should shift from sand, liquor, mining mafia
AMARAVATI: Telugu Rythu State President Marreddy Srinivasa Reddy on Friday expressed concern that Andhra Pradesh stood in 3rd place in farmers’ suicides in the entire country as per the latest figures of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Srinivasa Reddy said that AP climbed to 2nd place in the suicides of tenant farmers. At least now, the Jaganmohan Reddy Government should shift its focus from sand, liquor, land and mining mafia to resolving problems in the agriculture sector.
Addressing a press conference here, the TDP leader said that many more farmers were committing suicides in AP but they were going unreported in the State and the NCRB records. The rate at which the farmers were getting stuck in more losses and debts in AP, very soon the State would beat all records in their suicides. Already, AP was standing in top two and three positions in suicides even though it was compared with States having larger populations.
Srinivasa Reddy said that as per the NCRB, over 664 farmers ended their lives in AP in 2018 but the number rose to 1,029 in 2019 and 889 in 2020. The first and second places in farmers suicides went to States which have much larger populations than AP. There was an immediate danger that AP would stand in first position if the Jagan regime did not change its priorities.
The TDP leader deplored that the State Government was deliberately under-reporting the suicides of farmers already. Though the farmers were taking their own lives, unable to repay debts, the authorities were recording other reasons for the cause of their death. The farmers were selling the mangala sutras of their wives to till land and grow crops but the Government was not taking any steps to ensure remunerative prices for their produce.
Srinivasa Reddy said that the maize crop was sold six months ago but the farmers had not yet received their payments. The farmers sold their food grain but the Government was not making payments to them in time. The millers were directly buying grain and taking support of the YSRCP leaders to betray the farmers by not showing figures. The Government Advisors became a curse for the farmers. The harvest came out long back but the Government had not yet decided on the purchase of the crop.
The TDP leader accused the Jagan Reddy regime of abetting the suicides of farmers by cheating them instead of coming to their rescue in ensuring good prices. Input subsidy was not yet given to farmers who suffered damages in the Nivar and Gulab cyclones. To cover its negligence, the Government was using the ruling party blue media to propagate that everything was rosy in agriculture.
Srinivasa Reddy demanded that the YCP regime stop betraying people with its false propaganda and start addressing the problems of farmers. All the necessary steps should be taken to prevent farmers’ suicides. The present rulers should divert their attention from looting all sections of the people in the State.
