The Hindu : Karnataka News : Farmers banking on Deve Gowda's promises

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Farmers banking on Deve Gowda's promises

By Our Staff Correspondent

HASSAN, JULY 18. The presentation of the State Budget by the Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, on Monday has kindled hopes among farmers in the district that the Government will come out with some support to ease their burden which they have been carrying for long.

The highest number of suicides by farmers, who were not able to clear their debts, was witnessed in Hassan district.

The farmers in the region are banking on the assurances made by the Janata Dal (Secular) President and former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, during the run-up to the elections.

Manjunatha Datta, General Secretary of the State unit of the Janata Dal (S), who has been associated with the farmers' movement for a long time, hoped that Mr. Siddaramaiah would address the problems of farmers.

He said the farmers expected waiver of loans, especially those borrowed from commercial banks.

He expected the Deputy Chief Minister to at least waive the interest component on loans.

The Government should make budgetary allocation for the interest subsidy and there was a need for increasing the revolving fund meant for buying agricultural produce during price crash, he said.

Attihalli Devaraj, a farmer from Sakleshpur, wanted crop insurance to be made compulsory for farmers. Nagaraj, a farmer from Alur, said price stabilisation had assumed great importance in view of the glut in production.

The General Secretary of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Kodihalli Chandrashekar, said the farmers were facing a crisis because of drought in the past three years and it was the moral duty of the Government to waive loans taken even from commercial banks.

Mr. Deve Gowda, who is also MP for Hassan, had mentioned in the party's election manifesto that the Government should waive the principal amount in the case of farmers who had paid more interest than the principal itself.

Mr. Deve Gowda sought waiver of interest and penal interest on loans taken by farmers.

Now, he should persuade the Government to waive the principal amount and the interest accumulated on it as one-time relief for farmers, Mr. Chandrashekar said.

He noted that the Government should follow the example of Andhra Pradesh which had provided free power supply to irrigation pump sets.

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