Hyderabad: Farmers in the Thungathurthi mandal of Suryapet district staged a dharna outside the local Tahsildar’s office on Saturday, August 30, demanding adequate urea for their crops.
Farmers in Telangana have been protesting over the urea shortage in the state, alleging that they have not received adequate supplies even after standing for hours in long queues in front of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
On Friday, farmers held a sit-in protest in Siddipet district’s Gajwel, raising “CM Down Down” slogans. While in Medak, farmers placed footwear and stones in a queue while waiting for the centre to open.
Amid the rising demand for fertiliser in the state, Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao stated that the Telangana is set to receive 49,275 tonnes of urea from the Central government in the coming days.
He said the fresh consignment will be allocated to districts where the demand for fertiliser is highest, in order to ease farmers’ woes.
In addition to this, he also added that he has formally requested an additional 2.38 lakh (238,000) tonnes of urea from Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister JP Nadda.
This request is meant to supplement the 1.5 lakh (150,000) tonnes of urea already approved for the state for the month of September.
During a review meeting at the Secretariat on Friday, August 29, minister Thummala provided specific updates on the supply of urea stating that 21,325 tonnes are expected to arrive in Telangana within the next two days, followed by another 27,950 tonnes in the first week of September.
He also added that the current stock in the state totals only 30,000 tonnes, while daily sales range from 9,000 to 11,000 tonnes.
The Agriculture Minster has assured farmers that with the expected central allocations, the urea supply situation in Telangana should improve significantly in the next few weeks, enabling farmers to continue their work without further disruptions.
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