'Drought relief being neglected'

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM, SEPT. 12. A team of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham led by Mr. Sunnam Rajaiah, Bhadrachalam MLA, visited the three north coastal districts on Tuesday and Wednesday to assess the drought situation and found that there was lack of drinking water and fodder in most of the mandals in all the three districts.

``Paddy nurseries have dried up and no arrangement for alternative crop has been made,'' Mr. Rajaiah told a press conference here on Wednesday. The 'food for work' programme also had not been grounded in most of the places in Visakhapatnam district and in the past 10 days no rice had been disbursed as part of the programme, he alleged.

The attitude of the State Government towards finding relief for farmers and farm labourers was ad hoc and it was not distributing the rice meant for the purpose. Mr.N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, had also gone back on his promise to provide minimum wages to all farm labourers in the form of 5 kg of rice and Rs.30 per day. The MLA alleged that the Chief Minister was denying money and giving only rice.

He lamented the attitude of the Visakhapatnam District Collector in tackling the drought situation, and said it was a pity that he was absent along with 10 MLAs of the district at the Zilla Parishad meet called specially to discuss the issue.

Picketing of rice godowns

Six teams of the sangham along with the MLA of the CPI(M) toured all the 22 drought-affected district for three days. The AP Rythu Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham members would picket all the rice godowns in the State on Sept. 18 to pressure the State Government to distribute rice available in the godowns.

The State had 40 lakh tonnes of rice reserves in the godowns, and it required only 14 lakh tonnes per year under all schemes and PDS, the remaining must be given to farmers and farm labourers under the 'food for work' scheme without any restriction.

After September 18 the sangham would decide on its further course of action, which could be forcible removal of stocks from godowns, he indicated.

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