Mysuru / Bengaluru, September 1 (Karnataka Information):
Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara, who is visiting Mysuru district to assess the drought situation, today visited the farms of farmers affected by the lack of rainfall in Kanchugarakoppalu village of K.R. Nagar taluk and conducted a drought assessment.
Speaking to media representatives after the assessment, he said that he had inspected the farmlands of farmers who had cultivated ragi and tobacco in the village along with local MLA Ravishankar. The crops were completely destroyed as the region faced a lack of rainfall just a few days after the crops were sown and had germinated. Across the entire taluk, crops had been sown on only 10 hectares of agricultural land this year and even those crops have now been destroyed. The ground situation indicates that crop losses have occurred across the taluk. Against this backdrop, K.R. Nagar taluk has already been declared drought-hit, he said.
He further said that a memorandum on the drought situation in the state would be submitted to the Central Government and appropriate compensation would be provided. Chief Minister D.K.Shivakumar has left for Gadag district today to inspect drought-hit areas. I will assess the drought situation in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts today and tomorrow. Finally, our government will discuss the matter and take a decision to address the problems faced by farmers. Tobacco and ragi are widely cultivated in K.R. Nagar taluk, but all the crops have been damaged. Farmers have not been able to harvest any crop. A decision will be taken in this regard, he said.
He said that he and the Chief Minister had already written to the Centre requesting that the norms for declaring an area drought-hit be relaxed. If the norms are relaxed, more taluks can be declared drought-hit. However, no response has been received from the Centre so far. Therefore, a detailed memorandum will be submitted shortly. Funds will be released after the Central team visits the affected areas and conducts an inspection, the Deputy Chief Minister explained.
Responding to a question from the media about the increasing harassment by microfinance companies, he said that the government had already enacted a law in this regard. I have instructed that farmers should not be forced or harassed in any manner. Strict action will be taken against those who violate these instructions, he said.
Hunsur MLA Harish Gowda, K.R. Nagar MLA Ravishankar, former MLA H.P. Manjunath, Deputy Commissioner Lakshmikanth Reddy, the Tahsildar and agriculture officials were present on the occasion.
