THOUSANDS of tobacco farmers from across Prakasam district brought Ongole to a virtual standstill on Friday, June 19, as they staged one of the largest protests by tobacco growers in South India. Organised under the banner of various farmers’ unions with support from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, Left parties, CITU, and agricultural workers’ organisations, the rally saw hundreds of tractors and nearly 1,000 motorcycles choke the city’s major roads for several hours.
The protest began at the Tobacco Board Mini Stadium and proceeded through key routes including Trunk Road, Kurnool Road, Nellore Bus Stand, Prakasam Bhavan, Church Centre, Market Centre, Addanki Bus Stand, and the Power Office before culminating at the Ongole bypass.
Farmers turned out in large numbers demanding remunerative prices for their produce, expressing deep distrust in the assurances given by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Just a day earlier, the Chief Minister had convened a meeting on the tobacco crisis and announced that prices would not be allowed to fall below Rs 200 per kilogram. However, farmers dismissed the announcement as inadequate.
Addressing a massive gathering at the Mini Stadium, chaired by Joint District Convener Chunduru Ranga Rao, leaders sharply criticised both the Union and State governments. They pointed out the irony of governments earning over Rs 1 lakh crore annually from the tobacco sector yet refusing to allocate even Rs 1,000 crore as support to distressed farmers.
“It is shameful that while the Union and State governments are minting huge revenues from tobacco, they are unwilling to provide even minimal support to the farmers who produce it,” the leaders declared. They demanded an immediate Rs 500-crore support package and procurement of tobacco through public sector undertakings and cooperative agencies such as MPC and Markfed. The farmers vowed to continue the agitation until the government agrees to procure tobacco at a minimum support price of Rs 30,000 per quintal.
M Prabhakar Reddy, State General Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham, termed the Rs 200-per-kilogram assurance a “betrayal” of farmers, stating that the actual cost of production has now risen to around Rs 260 per kilogram.
Gujjula Eswaraiah, State President of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham, demanded that a joint delegation of tobacco farmers and representatives of farmers’ organisations be sent to New Delhi for direct talks with the Union government. He criticised the State government for failing to send a ministerial delegation to pursue the issue seriously and noted that the Agriculture Minister’s promise to procure “every last leaf” of the tobacco crop remained unfulfilled.
V Krishnaiah, leader of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham, highlighted the growing GST revenues from tobacco products, which were hiked from 28% to 40% this year. “Last year, the Centre earned Rs 28,000 crore and the State Rs 7,000 crore from this sector. This year, revenues are expected to reach Rs 40,000 crore and Rs 10,000 crore respectively. Yet there is no justice for the farmers,” he said.
Other leaders who addressed the rally included Ch Venkateswarlu of the All India Agricultural Workers Union, Jayanthi Babu, Pamidi Venkata Rao, and C V Sagar, District General Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham.
The farmers have warned that their agitation will intensify if concrete steps are not taken immediately to address the crisis.
