Farmers block NH-16 in Ongola seeking bargain prices for tobacco

Members of various farmers’ organizations under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha staged a protest on the Kolkata-Chennai National Highway at Throvagunta in Prakasam district on Wednesday. | Photo credit: KOMMURI SRINIVAS

Hundreds of farmers demanding better prices for Virginia tobacco blocked the National Highway (NH) 16 at the Tangutur toll plaza near Throvagaunta in Ongola on Wednesday. As a result, several vehicles were stranded for kilometers on the highway.

Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) district committee convener Prakasam Chunduri Ranga Rao said during the protest that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has not shown even the slightest response despite tobacco farmers holding various forms of protests.

“SKM has organized several protests over the past three months demanding that the state government offer remunerative prices for tobacco. The chief minister recently announced that low quality tobacco will be bought at ₹ 110 per kg, while its average price is ₹ 1,877 per kg,” he said.

A farmer leader asked the chief minister to explain the underlying reason behind the sudden reduction in the price of low quality tobacco to ₹110 per kg. He slammed Mr. Naidu for feigning concern for farmers while making decisions that benefit corporate traders.

Mr Ranga Rao pointed out that although Mr Naidu had earlier issued orders mandating an average purchase price of tobacco of at least ₹200 per kg, not a single tobacco trader had actually followed his directives.

He criticized corporate businessmen for dictating terms to the central and state governments, noting that the governments themselves were subservient to these corporate interests. He demanded that both the governments allocate a fund of ₹1,000 crore and facilitate the purchase of tobacco.

Speaking on the occasion, CPI district secretary Prakasam R. Venkat Rao said that tobacco farmers in the state have paid thousands of crores of rupees to the central and state governments in the form of fines. “Tobacco exports generate crores in foreign currency for the country. The central government, which waives crores of rupees worth of loans to corporate entities, could not allocate just ₹1,000 crore to tobacco farmers,” he asked.

Published – 29 Jul 2026 20:39 IST