Hyderabad: Senior Congressional Leader and Telangana Seeds Development Corporation Chairman Sunketa Anvesh Reddy criticized BRS leaders Prashant Reddy and Kalvakuntla Kavitha for allegedly lowering turmeric prices. He admitted that although the current prices are not satisfactory, they are much better than they were during the BRS regime.
Anvesh Reddy said in an interview that the price of turmeric hovers around Rs 12,000 per kilometer in 2024-25, with a difference of about Rs 11,000 per quintile. He noted that during the 10-year reign of the BRS, the price of turmeric never exceeded Rs 7,000 per five punch. He further accused the previous administration of suppressing farmers’ protests by arresting farmers’ leaders, suing them, and imprisoning those who demand higher prices. He claimed: “When we nominated Rythu Sangham leader in the election, the BRS government even arrested me and six others.”
Reddy also did not bring any real benefits to farmers for the establishment of the Turmeric Committee, which was established by the central government in 2024. He urged the centre to purchase turmeric through the National Agricultural Cooperatives Ltd. of India (NAFED). He added that the state government is willing to buy turmeric from farmers in the market code and directed officials to ensure that farmers in Telangana get the same price as those in Sangli, Maharashtra, the country’s largest turmeric market. He noted that Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao also called on the centre to step in and procure turmeric through Nafed.
Reddy highlighted another key issue, urging the center to provide machines to check the moisture content in turmeric as farmers caused huge losses by bringing high-moisture produce to the marketplace without proper assessment. Regarding the issue of adulterated seeds, Reddy assured that the Congressional government has directed regional collectors to ensure compensation for farmers affected by fake seeds.
