Hyderabad: Downplaying the criticism of the state government by opposition parties with regard to the delay in paddy procurement, Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao claimed that the delay was being caused by the Centre’s tyrannical policies.
He claimed that the transportation of gunny bags to paddy procurement centres in the state was being delayed because of the war in the Middle East, and due to the shortage of diesel, lorries were stalled everywhere.
He said that while the Centre was creating these problems, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) state unit was shamelessly holding bus yatras in the state.
Stating that neither BJP nor the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had any right to talk about the farmers, he said the state government was committed to procuring paddy ’till the last grain.’
Tummala inspected the works for the Yatakulakunta Tunnel in Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Monday, May 25. He said that the tunnel works stretching 2 km of distance were completed in just 15 months after Congress came to power, and directed the officials to complete the tunnel lining works before August 15.
Three pump houses under the Sita Rama project have been constructed. This tunnel will help the flow of Godavari into the Sathupalli and Aswaraopet regions, bringing 1 lakh acres under irrigation.
Observing that there has been under-utilisation of Godavari waters in the undivided Khammam district, Tummala said that soon 10 lakh acre ayacut under the Sita Rama project will be irrigated, which he said has been his lifelong aspiration.
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