Congress leader wants measures for distressed Telangana farmers

Hyderabad: Alleging that about 1,100 farmers have committed suicide due to agrarian distress in Telangana since May last year, AICC spokesperson and former MP Madhu Yashki Goud today demanded that the state government take concrete measures to help agriculturists.

"The financial assistance which was offered by the state of Telangana, given in four instalments, is only enough to pay the interest and not the principal amount. Plus, the seeds which were supplied, were substandard and there is no minimum support price for the crop... Which is causing most of the farmers to commit suicide," he said.

The state government should take measures like setting up help centres, making revenue officials at village level responsible if a farmer commits suicide and giving advice to farmers on alternative crops, besides offering health facilities, he demanded.