Water under usage, one of many issues faced by farmers: KCR

Karimnagar: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, coming down heavily on Congress and BJP for neglecting the agriculture sector in the country, said that in the past 70 years neither tried to understand the problems faced by farmers. As a result of the negligence and inefficient governance by the Centre, farmers’ suicides in the country had gone up, he said.

Addressing the regional conference of Farmers’ Coordination Committees here on Monday, the Chief Minister said that though about 70,000 tmc water was available in India, only 35 to 40 per cent (26,000 to 27,000) of it was being utilised. “This kind of situation could lead to revolt by farmers and Telangana FCCs would lead the agitation,” he said, pointing out that he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi about 20 times to link agriculture with National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme but there was no response from the Union government.

Chandrashekhar Rao also accused the BJP of raising the issue of linking Godavari and Cauvery rivers only because of the Karnataka elections to be held later this year.

Referring the Congress leaders’ criticism that local bodies would be destroyed with the formation of FCCs, the Chief Minister said gram panchayats and farmers’ committees were two entirely different entities. On the allegations of FCCs being filled with TRS activists, he wondered what was wrong in appointing committees with people who strove hard for the formation of Telangana State.

Talking about construction of various projects, he said it was his dream to see the completion of four lifelines – Kaleshwaram project, renovation of flood flow canal, Kakatiya Canal and Godavari in flow – that would make water available in all tanks and reservoirs throughout the year. “My dream is going to become a reality within seven to eight months,” he said.

The Chief Minister pointed out that when Telangana State was formed, there were no statistics on food consumption. “On an average, people are consuming 20 grams of salt against the prescribed limit of of 5 grams. The national average itself is 11 grams,” he said.

Though a majority of the people used sunflower oil, the production was not enough to meet the demands of the people, he said, adding that fulfilling the needs with locally produced commodities was essential to achieve ‘Golden Telangana.’