Vijayawada: Former MLA Malladi Vishnu criticised the coalition government, stating that farmers’ suicides have become a daily occurrence in the state since it came to power. He expressed anguish over farmers being pushed into a helpless state due to successive calamities like cyclones, floods, and drought conditions during the cultivation season.

He described the suicide of tenant farmer Battula Veerababu in Chandarlapadu as tragic. According to official figures, over 100 farmers have taken their lives in the 10 months of coalition rule, highlighting their dire situation.

Malladi recalled that as soon as the YSR Congress government came to power, it increased compensation for families of farmers who died by suicide from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. Between 2014-19 Rs 116.10 crore was disbursed as ex gratia to 1,794 farmers’ families, including 495 tenant farmers.

However, Malladi Vishnu criticised the Chandrababu government for shelving its Super-Six promise to provide Rs 20,000 per farmer annually as investment support.

He claimed that since June 12, over 200 farmers have died by suicide due to the government’s negligence.

The families who lost their breadwinners are struggling to survive, with children’s education halted, marriages postponed, and financial hardships unbearable. He demanded that the government immediately support these families and warned that, if it fails to do so, the YSR Congress Party would launch a large-scale movement.