Express News service

Nellore March 5 Elaborate arrangements are being made by the administration for
smoothly conducting the Intermediate Examinations scheduled to be held from 7th march
in the district. As many as 55,892 students from 155 junior colleges are going to writing
the examinations. As many as 84 centers were arranged across the district. Speaking the
occasion RIO G. Varaprasad said that in view of conducting the examinations effetely a
district level examination committee(DEC), and high power committees were constituted
headed by collector K.Ramgopal. He said in view of preventing the mass copying in the
examinations a flying and sitting squads were deployed. He directed the officials to take
initiative in arranging the bus facility from the villages and water facility in the
examination centers. He said 24 pages answer sheet in A-4 size would be given to the
candidates. He said in view of preventing un acceptable incidents a control room was
arranged at RIO office with the telephone NO 232031. He appealed the people to lodge
complaint to the same number as the administration will take immediate action.

Item 2 A 3 day indefinite fast camp was launched by the farmers headed by All Party
Committee at Atmakur bus stand here demanding for providing Minimum Support
Price(MSP) here today. On this occasion a demonstration was held with farmers in large
number, and they staged dharna at collector office. TDP district president
S.Chandramohan Reddy who inaugurated the indefinite fast camp, said that the both
central and state governments have no interest in improving the living standards of the
farming community in the state. He said despite the rice millers in the district looting the
farmers, the administration least bothered over it as it had lacked the control over the rice
milling industry. CPM district secretary J. Venkaiah said that despite around 20 lakh
tunes of paddy in 8 lakh acres are being produced in every Kharief season but farmers are
occurring heavy crop losses due to lack of Minimum support price(MSP) as the
administration not turning positive towards the farming community. He recalled that the
governments in Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh providing RS 200 bonus to the farmers in
addition to MSP where as AP government even not able to provide the MSP properly.
He said that the farmers are forced to sell their produce RS 8,000 per putty (850 bags),
against the MSP Rs 8,500 as they were being cheated by middle men. He said that they
are going to met the Union Agriculture Minister Saradh power on 7th march at Delhi. He
demanded the administration to purchase the paddy directly from the farmers to avoid the
middleman menace. A.P. State Paddy Seed producing Farmers Union president M.
Ravindranath Reddy, A.P. Rythusangam district secretary Ch. Rajagopal and others were
present.