Kumaraswamy held interaction with farmers

Bangalore, Jun 14 (UNI) The spate of farmers suicides across Karnataka was discussed at an interactive meeting convened by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to find a way out to mitigate the sufferings of agriculturists.

Mr Kumaraswamy who was flooded with suggestions assured farmers, agricultural experts and political leaders who participated in the meeting that the Government would find a solution and come to the rescue of farmers. He said it was not just the crop loan burden that led farmers to take the extreme step, but various other problems also such as failure of wards getting proper employment and inability to meet medical costs of family members.

Among various suggestions thatcame up during the meeting included creation of a Agriculture Price Monitoring and Regulating Committee and Agriculture Planning Board at the state level and reintroduction of free supply of power scheme to farmers.

Mr Basavaraj Thambake, a farmer from Bidar district narrating the plight of farmers in the district said that farmers suicides were not recent occourances. It had a histroy of over three decades and wanted the government to go into the root of the problem and come out with a comprehensive solution. He said in 1970s, the farmers never thought of such extreme steps when the distress was severe.

However, the emerging trend of opening of economy in the WTO regime in the name of development had resulted in farmers being ignored thereby their woes continue to pile up during the last two decades.

He said that to extricate the farmers from the present status of plights the state government should take immediate measures including reintroduction of free supply of power, formation of Agriculture Planning board at State level, implementation of Dr Swaminathan Committee in its full text, and one-time waiver of all the farmers debts including that loan taken from Co-operation institutions and the banks.

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