Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has found fault with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy for writing an open letter to farmers asking them to be brave in the difficult situation as the government is on their side.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Mr. Dattatreya said that it was due to distress caused by unprecedented crop loss the farmers were resorting to suicides and 35 such deaths during the last one month was an ample indication.Instead of coming to their rescue with a relief package that would actually bail out the farmers the Chief Minister was providing the lip sympathy doing very little practically, he alleged.

He demanded that the government give at least Rs. 6,000 crop loss compensation per acre, supply seed free of cost for the coming season, reschedule loans and arrange crop loans at 3 per cent for the next season.

Published Date : Monday, 20/12/2010 12:49 PM IST

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