YSRCP to stage ‘Annadatha Poru’ agitation on Sep 9 over urea shortage, black marketing

Amaravati, Sep 8 (PTI) YSRCP on Monday announced it will stage a statewide agitation, ‘Annadatha Poru’ (fight of the farmer), on September 9, protesting alleged urea shortages and black marketing.

Following the call of party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRCP leaders, cadres, and farmers will stage demonstrations at all divisional revenue offices across the state.

“We (YSRCP) will stage a statewide agitation (called Annadatha Poru) on September 9 against urea shortage and black marketing,” the party said in a statement.

The party alleged that farmers are being forced to stand in long queues for fertilisers, pay up to Rs 200 extra per bag, or buy pesticides to obtain urea.

YSRCP claimed leaders of the NDA coalition government are “hand-in-glove with traders who are diverting supplies to the black market, looting more than Rs 200 crore from farmers.” The party added that despite farmers seizing illegal urea trucks, the government has failed to act, exposing its “complicity” in the crisis.

YSRCP demanded immediate measures to curb black marketing, ensure fertiliser at Maximum Retail Price (MRP), restore free crop insurance, release input subsidies for rain-hit areas, and guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops.

The party also accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of making “dismissive and threatening remarks” while farmers continue to suffer, with nearly 40 percent of farmland left unsown this season.

YSRCP claimed that lakhs of farmers are preparing to join the agitation to hold the government accountable for its “failure to safeguard agriculture.” Responding to the allegations, I&PR Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy said the YSRCP is shedding “crocodile tears” for farmers and insisted there is “no urea shortage” in the state.

He accused YSRCP of “deliberately spreading fear and panic” among farmers. “In August itself, over 5.6 lakh tonnes of urea were supplied to farmers,” he said.

Parthasarathy also accused Reddy of "destroying the agriculture and irrigation sectors and failing to complete major projects," while the NDA coalition government has expanded the Handri-Neeva ayacut and is committed to completing Polavaram by 2027.

The Handri-Neeva Ayacut refers to the area irrigated by the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project, a major irrigation scheme in Andhra Pradesh that lifts and channels water from the Krishna River to the drought-prone Rayalaseema region.

The Polavaram project, a mega irrigation initiative, aims to irrigate lakhs of acres of agricultural land and provide drinking water to lakhs of people.

He emphasised that “farmers’ payments are credited within 24 hours,” unlike during the YSRCP tenure, when payments "were delayed despite partial paddy procurement." PTI MS SSK