Telangana Congress stages sit-in demanding MSP for chilli

The main Opposition Congress in Telangana today staged a sit-in at the market yard here demanding minimum support price (MSP) for chilli farmers.
State Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who led the protest, demanded that the government purchase farmers' produce for Rs 12,000 per quintal.
Congress had organised protests earlier at different places in the state on lack of remunerative price for chilli and submitted memoranda to government officials.
Chilli farmers at Warangal and other places in Telangana have been expressing anguish over the fall in price for their produce. Some had even burnt their crop.
The farmers had alleged that they are getting only around Rs 4,000 per quintal against around Rs 10,000 last year.

The state government had said that there is no system of announcing MSP for chilli which is a commercial crop. It had urged the Centre to purchase chilli in Telangana through Central agriculture-related agencies.