Karnataka   

Gowda urged not to politicise fertilizer issue

DAVANGERE: Agriculture Minister S.A. Ravindranath on Saturday urged Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda not to politicise the issue of fertilizer scarcity.

Addressing presspersons at Shastrihalli here, he said that Mr. Deve Gowda should first have the knowledge of various fertilizers and their application and then comment. Different fertilizers would be used during various stages of cultivation. While some fertilizers would be applied at the time of sowing, urea would be used a few days after sowing.

He said though Mr. Deve Gowda, who had been claiming that he was “mannina maga” (son of the soil), he was not aware of the difference between urea and complex and DAP fertilizers.

Mr. Ravindranath said that he needed no guidance from Mr. Deve Gowda on matters related to agriculture as he (Minister) hailed from a family with a background of farming. It was not right on the part of Mr. Deve Gowda to make such unfair comments on sensitive issues such as fertilizer scarcity.

The Minister said that for June, the State needed 1,20,000 tonnes of DAP fertilizer and 1,10,000 tonnes of complex fertilizer. Even half of the requirement was not supplied by the Centre, he alleged, referring to the statement of Mr. Deve Gowda that there had been a huge stock of fertilizers and the State Government failed to distribute them.

The Congress-led UPA Government had failed in fulfilling its promise of giving 1,20,000 tonnes of fertilizers by June 20 and it had supplied only 57,000 tonnes. If the Centre failed in supplying fertilizers for June and July according to the State’s requirement, the problem would persist, he said.

Mr. Ravindranath urged Mr. Deve Gowda not to mislead farmers.

The State Government was thinking of bringing fertilizers from neighbouring States. The Government was in touch with some States, he said.

The Government would hold a meeting with agriculture experts and leaders of farmers in Bangalore on July 1. The meeting would chalk-out steps to resolve the fertilizer shortage in the State. The meeting would also fix a date to take a delegation to New Delhi to apprise the Union Government of the situation in the State, he said.

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