Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur

Minister hopeful of Rs. 60-cr Central aid for farmers

Staff Reporter

Team visits Anantapur district to assess situation

ANANTAPUR: Minister for Panchayat Raj and Endowments J.C. Diwakar Reddy on Saturday hoped that at least Rs. 60 crores might come to the district for the benefit of farmers who were denied crop insurance, as a result of the Central team's visit facilitated by A. Venkatarami Reddy, Anantapur MP.

He reiterated that the State Government was committed to provided food and shelter to each and every poor family. While the wage work was being provided under the National Rural Employm,ent Guarantee Scheme during the lean period, shelter was being provided under Indiramma scheme, he said.

Speaking at a public meeting here to mark the completion of two phases of Praja Patham programme, he said Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was committed to uplifting the poor with the help of welfare and development schemes. Officials and elected representatives had been visiting the villages for about a month now to know the problems of people.

Rs.1.5 crores spent

An amount of Rs. 1.5 crores was spent on providing temporary solution to the most urgent needs of the villages during the Praja Patham, he said and added that permanent solutions to problems identified during the programme would be solved in a phased manner.

Water pipeline project

Foundation stone would be laid for the Rs. 350-crore drinking water pipeline project from Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir to the water-starved areas in Kalyanadurg, Rayadurg, Uravakonda, Penukonda, Hindupur, Gorantla and Dharmavaram constituencies in the first week of June near Kalyanadurg, he said.

There would be no drinking water problem in the district once the project was completed, he hoped.

Supply of seed groundnut on subsidy would be launched on May 20, he noted.

Power scarcity

Admitting that there was a scarcity of power in the State, Mr. Diwakar Reddy said consumption had gone up due to the free power scheme.

The Government was purchasing power by spending Rs. 7 crores every day to meet the needs and it was ready to spend even Rs. 10 crores a day.

He urged the farming community to get capacitors fixed to their motor pumpsets to prevent burning out due to voltage fluctuations.

Dairy farming

The Minister urged farmers in the district to emulate their counterparts in Chittoor district where about 16 lakh litres of milk was being collected by cooperative societies.

He urged them to utilise Rs. 150-crore project sanctioned to the district sanctioned by the Chief Minister.

Zilla Parishad chairperson G. Thippeswamy, Anantapur MP A. Venkatarami Reddy, MLAs — B. Narayana Reddy and S. Sailajanath — Mayor R. Parasuram, district Collector Y.V. Anuradha and others spoke.

Assets distributed

Assets worth Rs. 9.33 crores were distributed among 5,163 beneficiaries at a meeting organised to mark the conclusion of two phases of Praja Patham in the district here on Saturday. Mr. Diwakar Reddy distributed the assets.

The financial assistance for the assets was provided by 17 departments.

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