KTR charges Congress govt. with ‘callous apathy’ towards farmers

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao criticizes Congress for water crisis, neglecting farmers in Rajanna-Sircilla district.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and Sircilla MLA K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday launched a sharp attack against the Congress government, accusing it of thrusting a man-made calamity on the farmers in the State by depriving them of water for irrigation and support.

Crops on nearly 15 lakh to 20 lakh acres are on the verge of withering and the Congress regime is showing callous apathy towards the plight of farmers including tenant farmers, he charged, while speaking to the media in Sarampalli village in Rajanna-Sircilla district on Thursday.

Mr. Rao visited the agriculture fields of several farmers in Tangallapalli mandal and interacted with the aggrieved farmers, sources said. He said his visit was intended to instil confidence among farmers to help them overcome difficult times. “It is not a natural calamity but a calamity imposed on farmers by the indifference of the persons at the helm in the State,” he alleged.  

“The ruling dispensation is deliberately delaying repairs to a few damaged pillars of the Medigadda barrage of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) due to political reasons, thereby undermining the interests of farmers,” he charged. He slammed the Congress government, accusing it of failing to fulfil its promises made before Assembly elections to farmers such as waiver of farm loans up to ₹2 lakh so far. He sought urgent steps to provide compensation and succour to the aggrieved farmers.