Fertilizer shortage hits T ryots hard - Govts Tall Claims Fall Flat As Ryots Fear Crop Loss After Heavy Sowing

Warangal: A social unrest is building up among farmers due to severe shortage of fertilizers in Telangana districts this season.With bountiful rainfall and regular power supply,the farmers had gone for hectic sowing activity in the last one month.But their hopes of a good yield have dashed with the authorities failing to supply enough fertilizer stocks. For instance,Warangal district received only 10,000 metric tonnes (MTs) of urea as against the requirement of 45,000 MTs in August.This huge shortage in the fertilizer supplies is forcing the ryots to take to the streets.

Hundreds of ryots were lathicharged at Hathnoora in Medak district on Tuesday when they staged a dharna demanding supply of fertilizers.While long queues at sale counters have become order of day, angry ryots are holding dharnas and rasta rokos in several mandals of Medak,Warangal and Nizamabad districts as shortage of urea has reached alarming proportions in these parts.Though the authorities are ensuring uninterrupted power supply,we are at our wits end as there was no fertilizer to supplement the crop, rued Ramana Reddy of Chityala mandal in Warangal district.He sowed paddy in 10 acres. While the requirement for Warangal this kharif season was 1,43,429 MTs of urea,only 10,000 MTs was supplied. Little wonder,enraged farmers are taking out protests and rallies at Narsampet, Mahabubabad, Jangaon and Warangal demanding immediate release of urea.Otherwise,the sown crop will wither away and we will suffer huge losses, said Kamalakka in Seetanagaram of Hasanparthy mandal. Sources said dealers in cahoots with agents are creating an artificial shortage of urea.At several places,the dealers insist that the ryots buy zinc bag along with urea bag.While one urea bag (50 kg) costs Rs 290,the zinc bag is priced at Rs 310.Zinc usage is minimal for the crop but we are forced to buy that, a farmer complained.

A cotton farmer Somaiah,who has five acres,said if the urea was not supplied in sufficient quantities,cotton plants would die.I came to purchase urea in Warangal on Tuesday but in vain.Our livelihood is at stake but our pleas for fertilizer supplies have fallen on the deaf ears of the authorities, he regretted.Two farmers died of electric shock when they ran after a lorry carrying urea bags at Station Ghanpur in 2008.The farmers stopped the urea loaded lorry and climbed atop it to fetch some bags.Unfortunately,they came in contact with an overhead high-tension live wire and died on the spot, he said and hoped such a situation would not recur.

While the farmers are crying for fertilizer supplies in Medak and Warangal districts,the situation is not alarming in Karimnagar,Nizamabad and Adilabad districts.Karimnagar got 54,930 MTs,Nizamabad received 53,520 MTs and Adilabad overcame the crisis with the arrival of stocks though it faced shortage 10 days ago. Some of the stocks are diverted to Maharashtra and Karnataka border areas by the agents with the connivance of the officials, a farmers sangham leader alleged.However,Karimnagar district minister Sridhar Babu allayed the fears of the ryots saying the district would shortly get another 35,000 MTs of urea.DAP,complex and potassium fertilizer stocks have already arrived in the district, he added.
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16 held for damaging Rajolibanda gates

Sixteen persons were arrested in here on Tuesday in connection with the damage caused to shutters of Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) sluice gates on Saturday. District SP Ch Srikanth said they were produced before a magistrate who sent them to judicial remand.Cases were filed against 25 persons after some miscreants damaged the shutters of RDS to divert the water to Kurnool district. Meanwhile, minister D K Aruna criticised parties for politicising the issue for their selfish ends.She said the Govt.  is committed to modernising the RDS canal to supply irrigated water to the ayacut.She criticised TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu for remaining silent on the RDS gates damage issue.
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(source-toi)