Atmananda writes to CM, demands special meeting in Mandya

Former Minister and Mandya District Congress Committee (MDCC) president M.S. Atmananda has appealed to the State government to waive crop loans and provide much-needed relief to the farmers in distress.

Mr. Atmananda, a prominent Congress leader in the district, told The Hindu that he has written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suggesting a few measures to assist the farming community that has been committing suicides owing to crop loss/heavy loans.

“Several farmers in the district have committed suicide because of a crisis in the farming sector in the last few weeks. Hence, I have requested the Chief Minister to convene a high-level meeting in Mandya to look into the remedial measures for the issue of farmer suicides,” he said here on Thursday.

It is the high-time to call for a meeting comprising the district in-charge minister [M.H. Ambareesh], elected representatives, members of all political parties and representatives of various sectors to find a solution for the issue, he opined.

The Government should waive crop loans or instruct the banks not to harass the farmers to repay the loans, he said.

Extend loan term

In the letter, Mr. Atmananda has also underlined the urgency of converting short-term loan into long term loans, instructing banks not to send loan recovery/property auction notices, stringent measures to be taken against moneylenders and other measures to instill confidence among farmers to ensure they do not resort to committing suicide.