A group of aggrieved subabul and eucalyptus farmers from Jogulamba-Gadwal district poured out their woes to Minister for Agriculture Singireddy Niranjan Reddy during the latter’s visit to the Burgampadu mandal in connection with the inauguration of Rythu Vedika on Saturday evening.
The farmers, who had come from Gadwal and Aalampur mandals, narrated their grievances to the Minister seeking his intervention to ensure the assured price to their subabul and eucalyptus produce.
They said they had raised subabul and eucalyptus plantations in their villages motivated by the social forestry initiatives of the ITC Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division unit at Sarapaka near Bhadrachalam.
Alleging that they were being deprived of assured price for their pulp wood produce at the paper mill in Sarapaka, they pointed out that they were unable to recover investment costs due to the “meager” price being offered to their produce after bringing it from a distance of more than 400 km to the paper mill in Sarapaka.
Later, the Minister brought the grievances of aggrieved farmers to the notice of the paper mill officials concerned and called upon them to hold a meeting with the farmers to resolve their grievances expeditiously.
Meanwhile, Mr. Niranjan Reddy offered prayers at Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam on Sunday morning before leaving for Hyderabad.
