Karnataka - Mysore   

Turmeric farmers likely to get a boost

MYSORE: The budget presented by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Friday is likely to give a boost to turmeric farmers in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts as well as provide a fillip to the tourism industry of Chamarajanagar district to some extent.

The Chief Minister has earmarked Rs. 10 crore each for meeting the long-pending demand for setting up a turmeric market at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee yard and a cold storage plant to preserve perishable commodities, both in Chamarajanagar.

A sum of Rs. 5 crore has been kept aside for the development of the tourism industry.

Sugarcane and turmeric are the two important commercial crops of Chamarajanagar district. Though the Government failed to respond to the problems of sugarcane growers, it has finally relented to address the issues plaguing turmeric farmers.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are the two States in the southern region which have a turmeric market. But Karnataka has no market yard for the produce despite being a major commercial crop. Farmers have been urging the Government to set up one for long and a proposal in this regard is pending with the Government.

Many farmers, who grow turmeric in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts, take the produce to Erode in Tamil Nadu to sell it. The produce is grown in more than 6,800 hectares of Chamarajanagar district and annual production is about 34,250 tonnes. A subsidy is being given to farmers to cultivate turmeric under the National Horticulture Mission and in view of the demand for turmeric in the Erode market, more farmers have been opting to cultivate turmeric in recent years.

The absence of a market yard and cold storage facility has been the major problem they have faced. The farmers have been suffering because of vagaries of market in the neighbouring State, exploitation by middlemen and commission agents, and exorbitant rent.

While BJP leaders have welcomed the Government’s move to provide relief to turmeric growers, Congress leaders view it as an election-oriented move.

“Though all the 12 Assembly constituencies that come under Chamarajanagar Parliamentary Constituency are being represented by Congress legislators, Mr. Yeddyurappa decided to meet the two long-pending demands of growers of the district keeping an eye on the Lok Sabha election,” said a senior leader. However, people are disappointed because there is no mention of other important issues plaguing Chamarajanagar district, including the much-delayed Kabini II Phase, filling tanks to provide drinking water from river sources, setting up of granite park, and development of sericulture.

In order to provide a matching grant for Rs. 8 crore released by the Union Ministry of Tourism to develop places of tourism such as Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, Biligiri Rangana Betta and Male Mahadeshwara Betta, Rs. 5 crore has been earmarked in the budget. It is significant that despite Mr. Yeddyurappa releasing Rs. 30 crore for setting up an engineering college, Rs. 5 crore for instituting Folklore Study Centre in Chamarajanagar and Rs. 2 crore for the development of Haradanahalli, the birthplace of Yediyura Siddalingeshwara, in the two successive budget presented by him during the Janata Dal (S)-BJP coalition government and the present Government, there has been no progress in all the three projects.

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