Date:17/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/05/17/stories/2004051705230400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

CM moves to prevent suicide by farmers

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 16. The new Government will take all measures to ensure that no farmer will commit suicide due to debt burden.

The Government will do everything to avoid repetition of the earlier situation but if some farmer did, by any chance, end his life, his family will be assisted in every manner, the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, declared at a news conference after an hour-and-half long discussion on the subject with senior officials on Sunday.

Dr. Reddy said some thoughts on how to prevent farmers from committing suicide had emerged at the meeting but a final plan would be worked at the next meeting with officials on May 30. The topic was discussed at length, Dr. Reddy said, and added that the Chandrababu Naidu Government had neglected the farmers.

Dr. Reddy praised the bureaucracy for working in tune with the priorities of the Government.

Their functioning mirrored the thinking of the Government.

At another official meeting earlier, the Chief Minister discussed mobilisation of additional funds for irrigation projects given the financial position of the State Government.

He left without answering a question on the State's financial health.