Farmers stage protest in Hassan urging the govt. to declare the district drought-hit
The Hassan district unit of the Karnataka Prantha Raita Sangha (KPRS) staged a protest here on Thursday, demanding that the State government declare Hassan district
The Hassan district unit of the Karnataka Prantha Raita Sangha (KPRS) staged a protest here on Thursday, demanding that the State government declare Hassan district drought-hit, provide relief for farmers, and take action against companies that supplied spurious maize seeds. Members of the KPRS took out a jatha (protest march) from the Hemavathi Statue to the Deputy Commissioner’s office before staging a dharna.
They carried maize plants affected by the disease, arguing that growers had suffered huge losses due to Bilisuli, or downy mildew, and that companies supplying spurious seeds responsible for the outbreak should be held accountable. The protesters said cultivation had been badly hit in the district owing to a shortfall in rainfall. Against a sowing target of 2.86 lakh hectares this year, sowing had been completed in only 91,534 hectares so far, amounting to 32% coverage.
Similarly, against a target of cultivating potato in 45,000 hectares, sowing had been completed in only 10,000 hectares. They further maintained that crop insurance schemes had not benefited the district’s growers in recent years. Despite paying premiums in previous years, maize growers in the district received no benefit from the scheme, the protesters said. They demanded that the government conduct a proper survey to assess the crop loss and announce relief for the growers.
KPRS district president H.S. Manjunath, general secretary H.R. Naveen Kumar and others led the protest.
The BriefWire