Over 50 farmers from Gummadam village in Pebbair mandal, Wanaparthy district, staged a protest on Saturday. They gathered at the Gummadam Rythu Vedika to demand the immediate waiver of their agriculture loans, which the government had promised.
These farmers had taken loans up to Rs 2 lakhs from the Andhra Pradesh Grameen Vikas Bank after 2023. They expressed their frustration, accusing the government of not fulfilling its loan waiver promise. The farmers claimed that bank officials were denying them the waiver by citing various technical issues. These issues included non-updated Aadhar cards, missing ration cards, and unsubmitted land passbooks.
One of the protestors, Nenavath Kishan Nayak, voiced his anger. He argued that the reasons given by the banks for excluding them from the waiver list were false. He questioned how the loans were granted in the first place if their documents were incomplete. Nayak emphasized that they had submitted all required documents, yet now they were being denied the benefits promised by the government.
Nayak also criticized the State government, led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, for allegedly betraying the farmers’ trust. He said that they had voted for the Congress party because they were promised a loan waiver up to Rs 2 lakhs and Rythu Bandhu support of Rs 15,000 per acre. According to Nayak, the government was now trying to escape its commitments by creating unnecessary hurdles. He demanded that their loans be waived unconditionally and that the Rythu Bandhu funds be immediately deposited into their accounts. Nayak warned that if the government failed to act, they would continue their protests until their demands were met.
In an attempt to resolve the issue, the farmers also approached the local Agriculture Extension Officer (AEO) for help. However, they reported facing similar challenges. The officials passed the responsibility back to the banks, who claimed that the waiver list was generated based on loan data provided by the government.
