Southern States - Karnataka   

Centre should rescue farmers: Sonia

By R. Chandrakanth and Nagesh Prabhu

BANGALORE SEPT. 30. On a whistle-stop visit to the families of farmers who had committed suicide in Kanakapura and Ramanagaram taluks in Bangalore Rural district, the All India Congress Committee president, Sonia Gandhi, today said the Centre had to come to the rescue of the farmers and heed to the pleas of the State on drought relief.

Ms. Sonia Gandhi, who consoled the families of Ramakrishnaiah in K. Gopahalli village and Puttaswamy Gowda of Chikkanadoddi, said the State Government's special package for farmers to the tune of Rs. 850 crore would alleviate their problems to some extent.

The compensation of Rs. one lakh, which the State Government was giving to each of the families, would help to a certain extent.

The Centre, she remarked, was not doing enough to help the farmers in this moment of distress.

The need of the hour was to bring down the suicidal trend and both the Governments, she said, had to find the reasons driving the farmers to such desperate measures. She presented a cheque for Rs. one lakh to the family of Ramakrishnaiah and advised Ramakrishnaiah's wife, Jayamma, to deposit the money in a bank. In Chikkanadoddi she gave a cheque for Rs. 25,000 from the Congress Party Fund to the family of Puttaswamy Gowda.

Ramakrishnaiah (45) had committed suicide as he was reportedly in deep debt.

Ms. Gandhi visited a farmer's house at Anedoddi in Kanakapura taluk and handed over Rs. one lakh to the wife of Chikkananjaiah who had committed suicide. The villagers told The Hindu that erratic monsoon and pollution of water were the main causes for crop failure in their villages.

Of the 130 borewells in Chikkenahalli, only 19 were functioning, they said.

The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, the AICC general secretary in-charge of the State, Vayalar Ravi, the AICC leader, Ambika Soni, the Ministers, D.K. Shivakumar, Motamma, Allum Veerabhadrappa, and the KPCC president, B. Janardhana Poojary, accompanied Ms. Gandhi during her visit to the villages.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Centre should rescue farmers: Sonia
• Shortfall in foodgrain production likely
• Murals keep alive memories of early Mysore Dasara

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu