'Ban' on cattle sale has farmers plough land

Vachalabai and her son Sunder ploughing their land

The proposed ban on the sale of cow and bullock by the Central government has  already begun to hit the farmers even before it has become law. 

Farmers are unable to buy cows and other cattle for agricultural operations without producing a great many documents, which many do not possess.

In Guarapur village, Indravelli mandal, Adilabad district, Ms. Vachalabai,65 and her son Sakre Sunder, 28, are ploughing their three-acre land without the help of bullocks; the son drags the plow while the mother sows the seeds.

They were unable to buy the animals they needed at the Utnoor cattle market because no one wanted to sell to them because of the heavy documentation and permissions required. 

Both the buyers and sellers of cattle in rural areas are in a panic because of the government’s diktat. Ms. Vachalabai said she was told to produce many documents related to their land and take the required permission from the village revenue officer, sarpanch, Tahsildar, and veterinarian.  

She said the restrictions on cow sales will certainly cause loss to the farmers, especially tenant farmers. Cattle owners also have to get the relevant certificates from the officials to sell their 

cattle.

FARMERS BUY CATTLE AFTER HARVEST SEASON

Most of the small and marginal farmers sell their cattle after harvesting season is over and then purchase new animals just before the next agriculture season so as to avoid having to feed the cattle during the off season.

In the tribal and rural areas of Adilabad, the tradition is for the tenant farmers to take cows and bullocks on rent for a few months for the agriculture work.

President of the Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV) in Adilabad district, Sangepu Borranna, says that the proposed ban on the sale of cows and bullocks has started showing its negative impact on the agriculture and is causing additional problems for the already distressed farmers. 

It was natural for poor farmers to sell their cattle in the agriculture off season and purchase them before the beginning of the next agriculture season.

“Most of the times, some small and marginal farmers clear their debts with the money they get by selling their cows and bullocks in the market. The proposed ban is likely to create a crisis in the agriculture sector”, Mr. Borranna says.

The ban will force the many farmers to take the extreme steps if they are unable to clear their debts or unable to cultivate their agriculture land due to a ban on sale of cows and bullocks’, he warns.

There are 4.25 lakh farmers in the integrated Adilabad district. Sixty – four percent them own less than two acres of land and 24 percent own less than five acres. There were 1.75 lakh tenant farmers in the old Adilabad district.

Under the Forests Rights Act, 2016, 1.37 lakh June 2 of land was distributed to the tribals and 1.32 lakh acres land is under podu cultivation in integrated Adilabad district.

Banks don’t give crop loans to the farmers cultivating lands given under ROFR (Recognition of Forest Rights) and Podu cultivation and also tenant farmers.

These farmers are also not going to be considered by the state government for Rs 4,000 assistance to be given as agriculture investment by the state government.

Between, June2, 2014 and May 25, 2017, 2,964 farmers committed suicide in the Telangana state. Seventy per cent of them were tenant farmers.

Politicos go online to boost'19 chances

Candidates who were defeated in the previous elections, and those who are aspiring to receive a ticket, have launched a war of words on social networking sites in preparation for next elections.

Most sitting MLAs and Ministers have also launched their campaigns. They are posting information on the contribution that they have made to the welfare and development of their respective constituencies, along with the figures and graphics.

Meanwhile, defeated candidates have been trying to  highlight the inadequacies , failings and unfulfilled promised of the MLAs.

The social networking sites may play an important role in the election campaign, with the candidates showing an interest in reaching out to the youth and educated class.

Political leaders have created Facebook pages, and they regularly post updates regarding their activities.

Some Ministers have appointed PROs to post updates to the  media and on social media on their behalf. Some leaders have even- thrown parties for the media persons, to ensure that no damaging news about them appears in the media.

Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, the president of the Adilabad District Congress Committee and a former MLA, has been posting on Nirmal DCC Facebook page, to  promote himself and challenge his opponent Allola Indrakaran Reddy.

Supporters of  Jogu Ramanna, minister for forest and environment, regularly post details of the development works  carried out in the Adilabad Assembly Constituency over the past three years, the long- pending Korata Chanaka barrage works that have finally been taken up, and the strengthening of canals under the Satnala irrigation project.

Adilabad Municipal Council Floor leader Bandari Satish of TRS said it was the fact the social networking sites are playing a crucial role in spreading the information across all the sections especially youth and educated unlike in the past and it was easy to get publicity for the activities and reaching out to the voters without any cost.

He said even one can get feedback on the information posted through responses and political leaders could improve their performance with the feed back.

New moms get own coolers

Maternity ward in district govt hospital in Karimnagar

The intense heat has led to some mothers arranging their air coolers on their own for their newborn babies in the maternity ward in the district government hospital in Karimnagar district headquarters.

People of Karimnagar district have been experiencing high temperatures coupled with the heat waves over the last 10 days.

It is seen that family members of the lactating women have arranged their own four air coolers and three table fans at their beds in the maternity ward in the hospital.

The hospital authorities had arranged a cooler in the maternity ward to keep the hall cool but these are not sufficient.

On seeing this, family members of the lactating women brought their own coolers and kept near their respective beds.

However, the entire scenario indicates the pathetic conditions which the new mothers face in maternity wards in the government hospitals in general.

The coolers are kept in such a place that they cool mothers and newborn while the cool breeze doest not cover the attendants. The attendants have covered the windows with covers to protect themselves from the heat waves.

Some of the hospitals are facing acute drinking water shortage, even patients and their attendants are victims of this scarcity.

Some of the poor patients using table fans in addition to the ceiling fans available in the maternity ward. Most of these women from nearby villages and gave birth  and they were yet to be discharged.

Mahesh of Ramadugu mandal,  new father, said they have arranged their own cooler near the bed to keep both the mother and baby cool and protect them from the high temperatures.   

Youths beer binge turns fatal

The number of road accidents in old Adilabad district has increased in the summer, as the motorists take to the road after drinking chilled beer.

This has been the cause of a number of accidents that have recently taken place in the Adilabad, Mancherial and Nirmal districts.

Beers sales have increased over the past 15 days, to match the increase in temperatures. In old Adilabad district, people have been experiencing temperatures as high as 46 degree Celsius.

A majority of the road accidents have taken places in the broad daylight, after the consumption of alcohol by young drivers.

In a number of cases, inebriated youngsters have been found riding bikes on NH-44. Two youths died and two others were seriously injured in a road accident that took place Mankuguda in Bheempur mandal of Adilabad district on May 15. The boys had come to Markaguda village attend a marriage.

At the time of the accident, they were on their way to a liquor shop in Bheempur mandal headquarters, buy cold beers to beat the heat. It is learnt that already they had already consumed some alcohol, and this was their second trip to the liquor shop.

In their drunken condition, they hit the RTC bus coming in the opposite direction. 

It has become common practice for the youth to drink chilled beers to keep cool in the intolerable heat. After drinking they often ride bikes without even wearing a helmet.

Nearly seven youngsters have died over the past 15 days, in the daytime in the old Adilabad district.

B. Venkatesh of Adilabad town says that these accidents have been caused by the negligence of people who drive in an inebriated condition. “Youth who have consumed alcohol should not come onto the roads with their bikes”, he says.

Kancharoni tank a garbage dump

Kancharoni tank in Nirmal town 

The famous Kancharoni tank has become a garbage dump and is spreading stink as people of surrounding colonies throw their garbage into it. 

Apart from that sewage is also flowing into the tank which is close to the historical Nirmal fort.

Officials have failed to clean the tank and develop it as a picnic spot even though Minister for Endowment Allola Indrakaran Reddy, the collector and other officials pass by it frequently.

On the one hand, the officials are planning to develop the famous Nirmal fort as a tourist spot.

But, the Kancharoni tank which is close to the fort spreads bad smell throughout the day. Nirmal fort was constructed by one Nimma Naidu who ruled the area.

People can’t stand near the tank or spend time there due to bad smell rising from the garbage and decomposed carcasses of domestic animals dumped in the tank. The bad smell is detective long distance away.

Even the passengers traveling in the buses and vehicles cover their nose with clothes when passing by the tank. The windowpanes of vehicles have to be closed to keep the bad smell away.

Rajashekar of Nirmal town said that political leaders and officials concerned have neglected tanks in and around the Nirmal town. The town’s chain tanks were once famous. People say that it is high time the effluent flowing into the Kancharoni tank from the colonies are blocked and the tank cleaned.

There were strong allegations that the shikam land of the Kancharoni tanks is being encroached by the land grabbers and buddies of the political leaders.

RMPs turning rural, tribal patients into drug addicts

Drug abuse is prevalent among the people in the rural and tribal areas of the erstwhile Adilabad district as rural medical practitioners (RMPs) prescribe high doses, most of which are painkillers and steroids that give temporary relief.

But, steroids badly affect the functioning of the body and patients become addicted to such drugs over a period of time.

Medicines like Diclofenac and Decadron (tablet and injection), Betnesol and Prednisone keep the patients in a euphoric state and give immediate relief to the patients, but it also fuels the catabolism, resulting in the tissue breakdown by destructing the metabolism, in the body.

Patients easily get these drugs from the medical stores without any valid prescription by the qualified doctors. 

About its side-effects, a doctor working at a government hospital in Utnoor said: the “patients will suffer from obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension and chronic kidney diseases and health problems related to heart”.

He said government authority should take steps to control the drug abuse and create awareness among the people as well as RMP’s about the ill effects of steroids and painkillers, and added over a period of time the patients would become habitual for these medicines.

The ill the effects of above medicines will come to light only when the patients go to higher medical centers and through examination.

There is a strong feeling among the rural and tribals people that they get immediate relief, if they go to a local RMP when they fell sick without knowing about the medicines the latter prescribe and their ill effects.

It is a general practice that the RMPs would send the patients suffering from side effects to the doctors who run big Nursing homes and hospitals in the towns with whom they had a close network and regularly get commissions for sending patients.

The Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Utnoor officials, has identified more than 3,000 RMPs working in 13 mandals in the old Adilabad district and found that they were giving the wrong diagnosis to the patients, especially tribals, thereby posing a threat to their life.

A few months ago, ITDA officials had closed an RMPs clinic in Utnoor for causing the death of a tribal by the wrong diagnosis.