Hans News Service Jayashankar Bhupalpally

TheCommunist Party of India (CPI) has demanded that the Telangana government declare the entire Jayashankar Bhupalpally district drought-affected and provide immediate compensation to farmers who suffered crop losses.

As part of a State Committee call, CPI leaders and farmers staged a protest in front of the District Collectorate on Tuesday, demanding relief for affected farmers across all 12 mandals. Addressing the gathering, CPI district assistant secretary Faindla Shanthikumar and other leaders said declaring only five mandals drought-hit was unfair, as all 12 mandals were facing drought conditions. They cited crop damage across nearly 250 acres in Gurrampet.

The leaders demanded compensation of Rs 30,000 per acre for paddy farmers, Rs 50,000 for commercial crop losses and Rs 10,000 per acre for farmers who adopted alternative crops following government advice.

Rythu Sangham district secretary Mamidala Sammireddy said El Niño conditions had worsened farmers’ distress, pushing many into debt as crops dried up. He sought remunerative prices for agricultural produce, control over essential commodity prices and a special relief package from the Centre and State governments.

The CPI leaders warned that their agitation would continue until all affected mandals were declared drought-hit and farmers received adequate compensation. Several CPI and Rythu Sangham leaders and activists participated in the protest.