[1]Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday assured the farmers of continued assistance to bail them out of poverty. Mr Naidu, on the sixth day of ‘Vasthunna Meekosam’ padayatra in Raptadu constituency, said that drought has become perennial in Anantapur district and farmers falling into the debt-trap over the years.
Lending an ear to the problems of the local farmers, Mr Naidu criticised the Congress for not obstructing Karnataka government constructing a check-dam above Peruru dam. He said that it had affected around 12,000 acres under the ayacut of the dam. The TD chief assured the farmers of providing irrigation water to Peruru dam from Handri-Neeva if his party regains power.
Mr Naidu stressed the importance of linking agriculture with employment guarantee scheme and maintained that it would help farming sector. Referring to the drinking and irrigation water crisis in the region, the TD chief assured people of giving utmost priority to the problem. “Being there at the helm of the government for nine year and another nine years as Leader of the Opposition, I was never after power,” the former chief minister said, emphasising that he had undertaken the padayatra for the sake of the people and to know their problems first hand.
Before resuming his tour, Mr Naidu interacted with the students of Peruru Gurukul and elicited information about their problems. Soon after he set out from Peruru on Sunday, Mr Naidu reached the 100 km mark of his 2,340 km walkathon. The TD chief, who kicked off his tour on October 2, walked 10.7 km on the first day, 23 km on the second day, 22 km on the third day, 20.7 km on the fourth day and 22 km on the fifth day.
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