Kakinada, Dec 9 – A CPI-M team on Friday toured the cyclone affected paddy fields in Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh and inspected the losses sustained by the farmers due to crop damage .
The committee expressed serious concern over the extent of crop damage and the plight of the farmers and demanded the state government announce payment of Rs.35,000 per acre towards compensation.
It also demanded removal of all encroachments which were responsible for water logging and submersion of vast areas. The committee further suggested the government buy the damaged paddy at minimum support price eliminating middlemen.
The team comprising K Srinivas, P Ramakrishna , T. Raja, MV Ramana and V Chandrarao has appealed to the state government to issue instructions to the district collector to utilise the services of workers under the employment guarantee scheme for drying up the soaked paddy besides supplying gunny bags to collect the dried up paddy for transportation .
