Amaravati: Refuting the news article published by a vernacular media, Andhra Pradesh Minister of Agriculture Kurasala Kannababu clarified that the farmers' suicides registered by the government and those stated by NCRB are contradictory.

At a press conference, Kannababu slammed a section of media for falsely interpreting the NCRB data on farmers suicides. Although the NCRB clearly mentioned that the cause of the suicides was not listed and generalised it as farmers suicides, a section of media has been deliberately trying to irk the government, stating that the number of farmers suicides have increased, said the AP minister.

In the recent NCRB report, it was given that 889 farmers have committed suicide during 2020, but the three-men commmittee had confirmed it as only 225.

The AP Minister stated that the contradictions have been happening for a long time now and said that the Commissioner of Agriculture Department had already taken the issue to the notice of DGP, as the police department usually provides the data to the Centre.

He said that the current government had disbursed compensation to 466 families of farmers who had committed suicides, and was abandoned by the previous TDP government.
He said that farmers’ distress has been addressed with various initiatives since the day of forming the government, leading to a sharp fall in suicides.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has clearly instructed to provide immediate compensation to families of the farmers that committed suicide and in this regard each District Collector was given a fund of Rs 1 crore, he said.