KCR asks PM to extend lockdown, allow agri industires to function

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 11 (ANI): Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lockdown implemented to prevent spread of novel coronavirus for another two weeks.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had a video-conference with the Chief Ministers of different states over the coronavirus situation.
The country is under a lockdown which was imposed to curb the spread of the virus. The 21-day lockdown is scheduled to end on April 14.
During the four-hour long interaction with the Prime Minister, Rao made several suggestions, including the creation of a task force under the chairmanship of the PM.
"To protect the agriculture sector and ensure there is no shortage of essential commodities, the food processing units should be allowed to function," said the CM according to an official statement.
He also said that measures should be taken to run rice mills, oil mills, and other agriculture-based industries.
The CM also suggested linking agriculture with MNREGA and that this scheme should continue for at least two months and a policy through which farmers would be paid half the wages for their labour and the other half would be paid from the MNREGA funds.
"The primary responsibility for us is to procure the already produced agriculture yield. There is no place where we can store the procured food grains. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in the country can be emptied by distributing the rice required by the people for the next three months. The newly procured food grains can then be stored in these godowns," said the CM.
"We are procuring paddy in the villages and depositing money in the accounts of the farmers directly. The Paddy thus procured is coverted into rice and supplied to the FCI. It will take at least 4-5 months to get money from the FCI. Till such time, the Centre should take measures so that banks would not put any pressure for the payment of dues," said the CM.
The chief minister also suggested measures that maybe taken to battle the economic crisis that the country will face due to the situation arising out of the COVID-19 crisis.
"In 1918 due to Spanish Flu, there was an economic crisis all over the world. In 2008 there was an economic recession all over the globe. Due to proper measures we should get over it. Even now we are facing financial problems," said Rao.
"To counter this we need a strategic economic policy. RBI should implement quantitative easing policy. This will facilitate the states and financial institutions to accrue funds. We can come out the financial crisis. Release 5 per cent of funds from the GDP through quantitative easing Policy," he added.
The Centre should take initiative to postpone for six weeks the monthly interest paid by the states on debts from the Centre.
A taskforce under the Chairmanship of the PM should be created. In the backdrop of the lockdown, an action plan must be prepared on how to help farmers and the policies to be implemented on the economic situation. (ANI)