Hans News Service Hyderabad

TRS leader Kalvakuntla Kavitha was arrested by police on Friday after she led a protest in which party leaders dumped farmers’ harvested paddy near the Secretariat.

Kavitha slammed the Congress government as incompetent, stating that farmers are left stranded at procurement centres in scorching 48-degree heat without even basic amenities.

Alleging procurement fraud, she said authorities are deliberately registering Grade-A paddy as Grade-B to avoid paying the promised bonus on fine-variety paddy (sanna vadlu).

She further alleged that district collectors are worsening the situation of farmers, while unfair weight deductions are being used to exploit them. She demanded immediate action from the government to ensure farmers are not cheated by middlemen.

As part of the protest, she staged a sit-in and poured paddy on the road, highlighting the government’s failure. Protesters raised slogans against the administration before police intervened and arrested them. Kavitha, along with several women and farmers, was taken to Falaknuma Police Station and later released.

Lashing out at the administration, Kavitha said the Chief Minister has not conducted a single review meeting on the Agriculture Department in the last two and a half years.