Telangana growing enough grain to feed the entire country: KTR

HYDERABAD: Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) has said that Telangana is the leading State in the country in the field of agriculture and that it is growing enough grain to feed the entire country.

Speaking at the dual launch programme of Agriculural Data Exchange and Agricultural Data Management Framework at Novotel, Shamshabad, on Friday, KTR said that Telangana Government had always given first priority to the agriculture sector and that it was the only State that provided insurance to farmers.

"Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) is a farmer and has knowledge about agriculture. Many of us don't know that the the world's largest lift irrigation project, Kaleswaram, was built in a record time of four years," he said.

Expressing happiness over the environmental clearance that was accorded to Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, KTR said, "The arid region of Telangana, which is erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, previously used to witness migration. About 14 lakh young men and women would migrate every year from this Palamuru region across the country in search of liveihood. Not because there was no work. It was because there was no water to cultivate this arid land. Just yesterday, we got permission for the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Project. This is the going to change the entire fortune of the area along with Ranga Reddy and Nalgonda districts."

The Minister also shared details about how the Telangana Government was giving priority to the agricultural sector.

"Grain is being purchased at a minimum support price unlike anywhere else in the country. 24-hours free electricity is being supplied to farmers. Quality cotton in the country is coming from Telangana," he said.