Hyderabad, May 16 -- Telangana Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao on Friday, May 15, said that the state government has purchased 9.57 lakh metric tons of maize at a price of Rs 4,000 crore from the farmers.

He criticised the Centre, claiming it was ignoring farmers who are facing difficulties due to untimely rains.

Holding a review meeting with senior officials of the Agriculture and Marketing department at the Secretariat, the Minister discussed procurement of maize, storage facilities, availability of gunny bags, transportation arrangements and central government policies.

Nageswara Rao said that even though the central government has not purchased it, the state government has procured maize for Rs 4,000 crores with its own...