Farmers block NH-16 in Ongole seeking remunerative prices for tobacco
Demanding remunerative prices for Virginia tobacco, hundreds of farmers blocked national highway (NH) 16 at Tangutur toll plaza near Throvagunta in Ongole on Wednesday. Consequently
Demanding remunerative prices for Virginia tobacco, hundreds of farmers blocked national highway (NH) 16 at Tangutur toll plaza near Throvagunta in Ongole on Wednesday. Consequently, several vehicles were stranded for kilometres along the highway. Speaking to the media during the protest, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) Prakasam district committee convener Chunduri Ranga Rao alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had failed to show even a minimal response, despite tobacco farmers staging various forms of protests. “The SKM has organised several protests over the past three months demanding the State government to offer remunerative prices for tobacco.
The Chief Minister recently announced that low-grade tobacco will be procured at ₹110 per kg, while its average price stands at ₹1,877 per kg,” he said. The farmer leader demanded the Chief Minister to explain the underlying reason for the sudden reduction of the low-grade tobacco price to ₹110 per kg. He sharply criticised Mr. Naidu for feigning concern for farmers while making decisions that benefit corporate traders. Ranga Rao pointed out that although the Mr. Naidu had previously issued orders mandating an average purchase price of at least ₹200 per kg for tobacco, not a single tobacco trader had actually complied with his directives.
He criticised corporate businessmen for dictating terms to the Central and State governments, noting that the governments themselves were subservient to these corporate interests. He demanded the both the governments to allocate ₹1,000-crore fund, and facilitate the tobacco procurement. Speaking on the occasion, CPI Prakasam district secretary R. Venkat Rao said that the tobacco farmers in the State had paid thousands of crores of rupees to the Central and State governments in the form of penalties. “The tobacco exports generate lakhs of crores in foreign exchange for the country.
The Central government, which waives loans worth lakhs of crores of rupees for corporate entities, could not allocate a mere ₹1,000 crore for tobacco farmers,” he questioned.
The BriefWire