NOB_Bhingal (Nizamabad): As farmers across Telangana grapple with a severe urea shortage during the crucial Kharif season, a unique protest has emerged from Rupala Thanda village in Bhingal Mandal, Nizamabad district.

Local youth group Banjara Kings Youth has turned a Ganpati mandapam into a protest venue. They announced a lucky draw offering 3 bags of urea as a bumper prize. Tokens for the draw are being sold for just Rs. 99 at the Ganesh pandal itself.

Normally, lucky draws offer cash, gold or bikes, but here the most precious commodity for a farmer – urea – has become the prize. The organizers say this highlights how urea has become more valuable than gold in the market.

Farmers say that despite the government’s new mobile app-based distribution system, urea is unavailable on the ground. “By the time we open the app, it shows stock nil. Even if booking is successful, societies and shops are not giving stock,” a farmer lamented.

The youth said they organized this innovative protest to open the eyes of officials and the government. They demanded that the government immediately resolve the app glitches and ensure timely supply of urea to farmers, as paddy crops have reached a critical stage requiring fertilizer application.

The video of the “Urea Lucky Draw” is now going viral on social media and has become a talking point across the state, reflecting the ground reality of the fertilizer crisis.