Sericulture farmers on Monday staged a protest in the town expressing anguish over the steep fall in prices of silk cocoons.
Organised under the banner of Reshme Belegarara Jitharakshana Samiti and Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, the sericulturists took out a procession from Government Silk Market. Buullock carts carrying cocoon were part of the procession to attract the attention of the authorities. The protest disrupted the traffic for some time.
The protesters demanded that the government should ensure a stable price of ₹ 350 per kg of cocoons to save the farmers from distress. “The Karnataka Silk Marketing Board should be revived in this connection”, they said.
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The fall in prices of cocoons from ₹ 300 - ₹ 600 to around ₹ 100 to ₹ 250 per kg has left farmers in the lurch, farmers’ leader Chinnapura Narayanaswamy said. “Suicide by a sericulture farmer in a Kolar village a few days ago sheds light on the situation”, he added.