Somu Veerraju for immediate payment of compensation for crop losses

VIJAYAWADA

BJP State president Somu Veerraju on Saturday demanded that the government should immediately pay compensation in cash to the large number of farmers whose crops were destroyed by untimely rains and gales that lashed many parts of the State in the last few days.

In a letter to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Mr. Veerraju said agriculture and horticulture crops in about two lakh acres were damaged by the rains and there were deaths of cattle too. He wanted the loss to be assessed without any inordinate delay, and pointed out that chilli farmers incurred a major loss in Guntur and NTR districts.

Tobacco, groundnut, turmeric and banana were damaged in ASR, Manyam, Bapatla, Nellore, Ongole, Vizianagaram and some other districts. Besides, papaya and maize crops were damaged in the Palnadu area.

Farmers in Krishna, Eluru and East and West Godavari districts also suffered substantial losses. The government should provide them urgent relief, lest they should sink into massive debts, he said.