Consequently, several vehicles were stranded for kilometres along the highway. Demanding remunerative prices for Virginia tobacco, hundreds of farmers blocked national highway (NH) 16 at Tangutur toll plaza near Throvagunta in Ongole on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media during the protest, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) Prakasam district committee convener Chunduri Ranga Rao alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had failed to show even a minimal response, despite tobacco farmers staging various forms of protests. “The SKM has organised several protests over the past three months demanding the State government to offer remunerative prices for tobacco.
The Chief Minister recently announced that low-grade tobacco will be procured at ₹110 per kg, while its average price stands at ₹1,877 per kg,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, CPI Prakasam district secretary R. “The tobacco exports generate lakhs of crores in foreign exchange for the country. The Central government, which waives loans worth lakhs of crores of rupees for corporate entities, could not allocate a mere ₹1,000 crore for tobacco farmers,” he questioned.
Venkat Rao said that the tobacco farmers in the State had paid thousands of crores of rupees to the Central and State governments in the form of penalties.
He sharply criticised Mr. Naidu for feigning concern for farmers while making decisions that benefit corporate traders. The farmer leader demanded the Chief Minister to explain the underlying reason for the sudden reduction of the low-grade tobacco price to ₹110 per kg.
