Members of the Congress and the JD(S) have criticised the State government and alleged that Hassan district in-charge Minister V. Somanna has failed to address the problems being faced by farmers and those affected by drought. Both the parties have urged the government to change the district in-charge Minister in the interest of people’s welfare.
Hassan district unit Congress president B. Shivaram and JD(S) district unit president H.K. Javare Gowda held separate press conferences here on Thursday. Mr. Shivaram told presspersons that farmers had lost hope of getting a good yield this year owing to slackening of monsoon.“By this time, ragi cultivation should have begun on at least 20,000 hectares of land in the district. But according to reports from the Department of Agriculture here, ragi has been cultivated only on 20 hectares. Farmers have sowed seed potato in over 20,000 hectares. Their investment has gone waste as there has been no rain,” he claimed. Mr. Shivaram took serious exception to the Agriculture Department’s report which estimated crop loss at Rs. 20.6 crore. He said officials had not taken the investment made by farmers into account while calculating the loss. “The government should announce a special package for farmers in Hassan district,” he said.
Mr. Javare Gowda told presspersons, “If Mr. Somanna is not interested in working for people's welfare, he should hand over the responsibility to some other Minister.”
