Govt fails in monsoon preparation: Bommai

No guarantee of seeds and fertilizer to farmers: Bommai

ಹಾವೇರಿ, June 1:

The sowing has started in North Karnataka but there is shortage of the seeds and fertilizer. The cost of the seeds was exorbitant due to which farmers are unable to take up sowing despite rains. The State government has failed in the preparation for monsoon season, said former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.

He told reporters here on Friday that despite drought, the work of the seeds production should have been taken up by the agriculture department through the farms and agriculture and horticulture varsities. If not, the seeds must have been imported but the government has not done anything. So this has resulted in rise in the prices of seeds. The farmers cannot sit quiet just because the rates are high as it would impact the food production.

Bommai said the Congress leaders talk of Anna Bhagya without knowing that the seeds were first needed to grow paddy. The previous BJP government had given Rs 10000 to each farmer under the Bhu Siri program to buy the seeds and it has been stopped by the present government. There was no guarantee of the seeds and fertilizer for the farmers from this government and there was no guarantee of price for the agricultural commodities. The government must give an incentive of Rs 25000 for each hectare to farmers.

He said there is the scarcity of DAP fertilizer but the government has supplied other fertilizers. Not a single rupee has been given to the marketing federation this year as against the usual practice of giving Rs 400-500 crore every year. The CM must intervene and ensure the release of the grants to the federation.
Asked about the alleged involvement of Minister Nagendra in the suicide of an officer of the Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, the former CM said the minister must resign first since the deceased officer has mentioned the minister’s oral instructions to him. This scam must be probed and punish the guilty.