evidence: KHAMMAM: Chilli farmers were on cloud nine on Monday. The price of their produce went up to a record high of Rs 25,500 per quintal. A Sreenu, a farmer from a remote village Ulavanur in Palvoncha mandal said: "I have never expected I would be in for a windfall like this. I became a lakhpati overnight." Srinu is a small farmer. He raised Teja variety of chilies in his five-acre land holding. He took 39 quintals to the Khammam market yard on Monday which is about 100 km away. When Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar decided that the price should be Rs 25,500 per quintal, he was elated. More than 10 other farmers returned home with bulging pockets. After the declaration of the price, YS Trading Company came forward and purchased 30 quintals of Teja variety of chilly from Srinu at Rs 25,500 per quintal. He wanted the price to remain in this range always, which, he said, would encourage the farmers to grow more and finally free them from the shackles of usurious middlemen.