Sania Mirza, Jwala Gutta, Pragyan Ojha are now 'Farm Ambassadors' for Telangana

The Telangana government has roped in sportspersons from Hyderabad as ‘Farm Ambassadors’. According to a report in Deccan Herald, Sania Mirza, Jwala Gutta and Pragyan Ojha have agreed to help the families of farmers who committed suicide because of crop failure and debt.

The ‘Farm Ambassadors’ are required to highlight the situation faced by the farmers in the state. The report states that Sania’s mother Naseema Mirza gave a cheque of Rs 3 lakh to Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha who runs the NGO ‘Telangana Jagruthi’.

Jwala Gutta gave a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh and said that it was time for people together to help the farmers in the state. Ojha has also promised to do his bit for them.

According to Kavitha, many NRIs have come forward to adopt the farmers’ families as well,  the report adds. Her NGO supports the farmers’ wives and children.

The Telangana government recently increased the ex-gratia payment for farmers’s suicide deaths from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh. This came into effect from September 6.  This year the failure of the Kharif and Rabi crops have added to farmers’ woes in the state.