Southern States
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Karnataka
Mite menace: Special Central aid to be sought
By S.Rajendran
BANGALORE, DEC. 8. The State Government will seek special financial assistance from the Centre to tackle the eriophyid mite attack (``Nusi Roga'' in Kannada) on coconut palms in the State. The mite menace led to poor coconut yield in the past two years.
The Minister for Horticulture and Social Welfare, Mr. Kagodu Thimmappa, will meet the Union ministers concerned in New Delhi shortly, and request them to grant financial assistance fast.
According to reports, the Centre is expected to yield to the request following the recent increase in funds to be made available to the States to tackle the mite menace. The State, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh have made a representation to the Centre in this regard. Karnataka will request special assistance since the disease has spread to all parts of the State.
A high-level meeting of senior officials held here felt that the mite menace could be controlled, if not eliminated, only if huge quantities of pesticides were used. This required more funds. The allocation of funds to the Horticulture Department was low, and it had money only for the maintenance of the government horticultural gardens.
Earlier, the Centre released Rs. 8 crore to the State for purchasing pesticides and supplying them to the farmers. It is now felt that the requirement of funds was much more than what was anticipated. As per an earlier estimate, the requirement was around Rs. 25 crore. But reports state that over Rs. 100 crore is needed for a solution to the problem.
The State Government spent around Rs. 5 crore in the past two years on tackling the problem. But this has not helped since the number of coconut palms affected by the mite has multiplied.
Mr. Thimmappa, who has toured the State to study the situation, told The Hindu here on Friday that a recent intensive survey revealed that the number of coconut trees affected by the mite menace in the State was 2.5 lakh. The earlier estimate was 80,000. The disease recently spread to Bagalkot, Dharwad, and Bijapur districts. It was first noticed in parts of Mysore, Kodagu, and Bangalore Rural districts. By then, it had become widespread in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Kerala had initiated several steps to eliminate the menace.
The Minister said the financial assistance by the Centre to tackle the mite attack was restricted to Rs. 12 a tree annually. The State Government had earmarked Rs. 30 a tree. At least Rs. 8 would be required for pesticides and Rs. 2 for expenses, including labour, for every round of treatment.
Meanwhile, copra and coconut oil exports, which used to form a major part of agricultural exports, have dropped since other edible palm oils have become popular in international market. This has added another dimension to the Centre's thinking in the allocation of funds to the coconut sector.
According to experts, at least three rounds of treatment have to be administered in a given period, if the mite menace is to be eliminated. The exercise has to be undertaken at the same time in all the regions, which, the department feels, will be cumbersome since it requires a huge number of personnel. No purpose will be served if the coconut palms in only one area are treated at a given point of time, since the mite will shift to a place where the operation is not undertaken, and return later.
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