The Hindu : Karnataka News : Disaster strikes H.D. Kote farmers

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Friday, Aug 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Disaster strikes H.D. Kote farmers

Staff Correspondent

Most of the cotton and tobacco crops have been destroyed in heavy rain

— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

DREAMS SHATTERED: The recent heavy rainfall destroyed several fields like these in H.D. Kote.

MYSORE: The spectre of distress migration looms large over H.D. Kote taluk in Mysore district, where the recent rain caused extensive damage to crops and pushed farmers to the brink of misery.

The taluk, which is on Karnataka’s border with Kerala, received a record 777.2 mm of rainfall in the last two months, ruining a good portion of not only commercial crops like cotton and tobacco, but also ragi, jowar, maize and pulses on 1.5 lakh acres of land.

With the compensation amount provided by the Government falling woefully short, farmers are forced to go to Kodagu in search of livelihood.

Farmers of H.D. Kote taluk, which received 461 mm of rainfall in 2006, had not anticipated such a downpour this monsoon.

“We have not seen such heavy rainfall in 30 years,” said the former Minister M. Shivanna.

Much of the cotton crop on 70,000 acres of land in the taluk has been destroyed and farmers, who were expecting at least Rs. 20,000 an acre, are left in the lurch. Similarly, almost the entire tobacco crop on 10,000 acres of land has been wiped out.

Mr. Shivanna said the total loss was estimated at Rs. 100 crore.

“Several farmers had counted on the crop and planned weddings. Now, they have all cancelled the weddings. It is unlikely that there will be any wedding among the families of farmers of H.D. Kote this year,” Mr. Shivanna said.

Farmers, who had borrowed money for agricultural inputs like seeds and fertilizers, are the worst hit.

“Without a harvest, they will neither be able to take care of their families nor repay their dues. With their debts mounting, they may be forced to commit suicide,” he said.

Pathetic plight

The plight of landless farmers, who leased agricultural land, was pathetic. “Several farmers, who had leased land for Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000 per acre, are the worst hit. They have lost the money paid towards the lease amount and on agricultural inputs. They have no yield to repay their dues now,” he said.

With the situation likely to worsen in the coming months, the rain-hit farmers, most of whom were Dalits, would migrate to other places in search of livelihood, said Mr. Shivanna.

As if adding insult to injury, Mr. Shivanna said, the Government had paid a pittance as compensation.

“When the loss for each acre of land is estimated to be a minimum of Rs. 10,000, the Government has handed out a paltry Rs. 800, that too in only a few panchayats,” he said.

He said the Government should provide a minimum of Rs. 5,000 to farmers to tide over the crisis.

Although the loss was estimated to be more than Rs. 100 crore, the officials of Agriculture and Revenue departments had submitted a report to the Government putting the loss at Rs. 4.82 crore. The Government disbursed only Rs. 5 lakh as compensation so far, Mr. Shivanna said.

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