*Declare drought emergency in AP: MVS Nagi Reddy*

Tadepalli, September 6: YSRCP State General Secretary for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare MVS Nagi Reddy demanded that the Andhra Pradesh Government immediately declare a drought emergency and announce a special relief package for farmers.

Addressing the media at the YSRCP central office, he said the State recorded a rainfall deficit of 54.73 per cent. Of the 685 mandals, 653 faced deficient rainfall. The situation was particularly severe in Annamayya, Prakasam, Chittoor, Markapuram and Visakhapatnam districts.

Nagi Reddy said only 69 per cent of the normal cultivated area was covered in Andhra Pradesh, compared with 98.3 per cent nationally and 91.84 per cent in Telangana. Groundnut, cotton, maize, jowar, millets and pulses were badly affected.

He criticised the government for advising farmers to grow alternative crops without ensuring rainfall, irrigation or subsidised seeds. He said the suggestion to avoid paddy cultivation in the Krishna delta was impractical, as paddy covered 3.28 lakh acres out of the total cultivated area of 3.34 lakh acres in Krishna district.

Farmers were also suffering because of rising cultivation costs and falling prices for cotton, onion, maize, banana, tobacco and other crops, he said.

Nagi Reddy demanded compensation per acre for crop losses and direct transfer of assistance into farmers’ accounts. He sought immediate payment of pending input subsidy, crop insurance, interest-free loan benefits and Annadata Sukhibhava dues.

He also demanded restoration of free crop insurance, support for families of farmers who died by suicide and effective utilisation of available irrigation water. He said government assistance to farmers was not charity but its responsibility.