HUBLI: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council H.K. Patil has urged Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to take steps to crush sugarcane grown in the State in factories in Maharashtra.

Mr. Patil told presspersons here on Monday that the move, which was likely to get an additional Rs. 100 crore business to sugar factories in Maharashtra, would at least lessen the misery of farmers in Karnataka. Though there was around 100 lakh tonnes of sugarcane for crushing, factories in the State were not in a position to crush it before May 31, the deadline set by the State Government, he said. He said there was a need to extend the deadline till mid July. At the same time, there was a risk of reduced yield if crushing was delayed further.

Mr. Patil said the Chief Minister had "failed" in fulfilling the promises made to solve the problems faced by sugarcane farmers.

The former Minister said that mid-term election was the only solution if the Bharatiya Janata Party - Janata Dal (Secular) Government collapsed. He, however, was not forthcoming on whether the Congress would realign with the Janata Dal(Secular) to form a Government if the Janata Dal (S) severed its ties with the BJP. "It is a matter left to the decision of the High Command," he added.

He said the Government was trying to close down Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited (KBJNL) though it had to implement projects for utilising the State's share of water allocated under Scheme A of the "Bachawat Award". Mr. Patil criticised the Government for its delay in filing an appeal against the stay on lottery ban. The Government lacked the political will to fulfil the promise it had made in the budget. Either it should appeal immediately or promulgate an Ordinance to ban lottery, he said.

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