Amaravati, Sep 3 (IANS) Denying that there is a urea shortage in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday warned that serious action will be taken against those spreading fake news.

He appealed to farmers not to be carried away by the false campaign of the YSR Congress Party on the shortage of urea and fertilisers. He alleged that the opposition party is resorting to false campaigns to create panic among farmers for political mileage.

Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister appealed to farmers not to become partners of fake politics and the state government is committed to the welfare of farmers by providing water security. He said the state government remitted Rs 7,000 each to all the farmers recently.

He also appealed to farmers to avoid excess use of fertilisers and pesticides, which may lead to health problems for people. He said that the state government is considering to provide a subsidy to those farmers who minimise the usage of fertilisers and pesticides using drone technology.

CM Naidu said some districts, including Nellore, Tirupati and Palnadu, are using a huge quantity of urea and Srikakulam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Manyam and Vizianagaram districts are registered with low consumption of fertilisers and pesticides.

Giving a PowerPoint presentation on the availability of urea and fertilisers in all districts, the Chief Minister said that sufficient stocks are available in all the districts, and some people, in the guise of farmers trying to create panic among farmers by resorting to false campaigns on the shortage of urea and fertilisers.

Citing the example of four YSR Congress party men of Krishna district who made a hue and cry in the guise of farmers, the Chief Minister said that the government is going to act tough on such persons.

Naidu said that district collectors are instructed to monitor the distribution of urea and fertilisers daily to ensure the supply of urea to each and every farmer.

He said that as of today, 94,892 tonnes of urea are available in the state, and the Central government allotted another 53,000 tonnes of urea on Tuesday. The Chief Minister said that some people resorted to false campaigning during mango season, also.

–IANS

ms/uk