Farmers and the members of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha staged a protest at Akhandeshwar Chowk in the main market in Jewargi town in Kalaburagi district on Monday opposing the Union government’s move to allow imports of red gram and other pulses.
The farmers, who brought their bullock carts, took out a procession from the market to the Tahsil office raising slogans against the Union government for its alleged failure to protect their interests.
KPRS State president Maruti Manpade urged the Union government to fix a minimum support price for red gram at ₹ 7,500 per quintal.
The State government should also exert pressure on the Union government to revise the minimum support price as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan commission report, Mr. Manpade said and added that excessive imports of pulses in the last two years had affected people dependent on agriculture in India. The Union government’s decision to allow imports of pulses will continue to affect farmers to large extent this year too, he said.
The government should think of increasing production of pulses to meet the demand instead of importing excessive pulses. He also demanded that the government increase compensation to ₹ 15,000 for each acre of crop damaged due to floods and drought.
