G.T. Deve Gowda, former Minister and JD(S) MLA, on Monday said the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party will together fight for the cause of farmers who are in a state of distress over the drought situation in the State, during the Belagavi session next month.
With no drought relief for farmers, anger is building up against the Congress government. Farmers are losing their patience with no respite in sight to the problems they are facing for having lost their crops and mounting debt, the MLA said, after a team of JD(S) leaders reviewed the drought situation in Mysuru district.
Hunsur MLA G.D. Harish Gowda, former MLAs S.R. Mahesh, Ashwin, Mahadev and other leaders of the party were present. The delegation visited the farms, inspected the loss and interacted with aggrieved farmers.
Mr. Gowda said the JD(S) and the BJP will step up their fight against the government for its failure in handling drought and reassuring farmers. None of the district Ministers have visited the farmers who are in distress. The JD(S) has taken up farm visits and reviewed the drought situation to tell farmers that they are with them and will fight for their cause, he claimed.
Mr. Gowda said Mysuru, a drought-affected district, alone needed a relief of ₹200 crore. But the government has announced a sum of ₹70 crore. “How is to possible to compensate farmers who have lost their crops and are facing difficulty repaying their loans,” he sought to know.
The plight of farmers appears unending as they have also lost paddy, sugarcane, and tobacco crops. In Mysuru district alone, crops on 2 lakh hectares had been lost. The district is one of the badly affected ones but there has been no relief yet from the government, the MLA maintained.
Mr. Gowda lashed out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instead of convincing the Centre about the drought situation in the State, the Congress is engaged in politics. The government has failed to highlight the situation, he charged.
Until the State farmers get relief, the JD(S) and the BJP will continue their fight and ensure that the relief was substantially distributed to the affected farmers, he stated.
The MLA also accused the officials of failing in their duties in visiting the affected areas and documenting the drought situation.
Mr. Gowda said the constituencies haven’t got funds for development works and bad roads had been causing problems for the people. Each constituency required about ₹5 crore for filling up the potholes, he maintained.
