Hyderabad: Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) chief Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Friday launched a scathing attack on the state government, accusing it of displaying a "cruel and indifferent" attitude towards the farming community. Speaking during a protest demonstration held in front of the secretariat, she claimed that distressed farmers were dying directly on their harvested grain heaps due to significant delays in procurement.
Protest and Arrest
Accompanied by TRS cadres, women, and local farmers, Kavitha staged a sit-in and poured paddy on the road to highlight the government's failure. The protesters raised strong slogans against the administration before being arrested by the police. Kavitha, along with several women and farmers, was forcibly taken to the Falaknuma police station and later released.
Government Negligence Alleged
Kavitha lashed out at the government, pointing out that the Chief Minister has not conducted a single review meeting on the agriculture department in the last two and a half years. She demanded that the state government procure every single grain of paddy, jowar, and sunflower, and immediately grant ex-gratia compensation to the families of farmers who lost their lives.
Allegations of Malpractices
She alleged that authorities are deliberately registering Grade-A paddy as Grade-B to evade paying the promised bonus on fine-variety paddy (Sanna Vadlu). Additionally, she accused district collectors of adding to the woes of farmers through unfair weight deductions (Tarugu), further exploiting them. "The government must take immediate action to prevent farmers from being cheated by middlemen," she said.
Warning of State-Wide Agitations
Kavitha warned that if the Chief Minister does not immediately review the agricultural crisis and open procurement centers, the TRS would launch intensive, state-wide agitations across all districts starting from Saturday.
