Vijayawada: YSRC Pon Saturday released a poster for its upcoming statewide protest ‘Annadata Poru’ (fight of the farmer), scheduled for September 9, to demand sufficient urea for farmers and a crackdown on the alleged black marketing of fertilizer.

YSRCP leader Kakani Govardhan Reddy recently announced that the opposition party will hold the agitation at divisional revenue offices across the state on September 9 against alleged urea scarcity. “YSRCP would picket at mandal revenue offices across the state on September 9 to protest against the anti-farmer attitude of the TDP-led government which could not provide adequate quantity of urea, despite being a coalition partner (of the Union Govt),” said a press release from YSRCP.

The opposition party alleged that the N Chandrababu Naidu-led dispensation is encouraging private players who are “exploiting” farmers by selling urea at double the price. The protest will also demand action against people diverting fertilisers to the black market, seek remunerative prices for crops, call for restoration of free crop insurance and the immediate distribution of input subsidy to rain-affected farmers.

Releasing the ‘Annadata Poru’ poster, YSRCP state coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy accused the state government of “threatening” farmers who are demanding urea and other agricultural inputs. “Though 60 per cent of agricultural operations are coming to a close, urea is not available to farmers and TDP cadres have been selling it at exorbitant prices while farmers are made to run from pillar to post for urea, abandoning agriculture,” the former minister claimed. Further, he said the state government only reacts in a knee-jerk fashion to crises concerning chillies, tobacco and mango farmers and other issues only after Jagan Mohan Reddy had highlighted them.