AP & Telangana State Head – Anandam Dundi :
HYDERABAD: Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday said that around 50,000 metric tonnes of urea would shortly reach the state through Karaikal Port, including 10,000 MT from IFFCO, 15,000 MT from KRIBHCO and 7,500 MT from Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers.
The Union minister said that even though there were some international challenges, the Centre was making continuous efforts to ensure the availability of urea. Several urea plants in the country were shut down during the Congress regime. It was the BJP government which reopened them and restarted production, Kishan added.
He pointed out that though prices of urea have shot up across the world, the cost has not been increased by even a single rupee in the country. The government, in fact, has been increasing the subsidy, he noted.
State’s responsibility
He also said that the Centre provided stocks to the state and he did not know what happened later. It is the responsibility of the state government to ensure that urea is used properly and not misused, he said.
Meanwhile, the Union minister stated that neem-coated urea was introduced. “It is because some ministers from Telangana repeatedly said that there is no urea, some people started hoarding it, which created this problem of shortage,” he said.
He recalled that in the last 11 years, there was no shortage of urea in the state. He said that creating panic among farmers was not correct. Stating that Telangana asked for 20 lakh MT of urea, Kishan said that the Centre has already supplied 20 lakh tonnes and it will supply another two lakh tonnes.