Chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda has urged the Centre to announce a special package for farmers and set up a potato research station in Hassan, the home district of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.
In a representation to prime minister Manmohan Singh and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, he mentioned Hassan MP Deve Gowda’s recent letter regarding damage caused to crops such as potato, cardamom, ginger, turmeric and tur dal in Karnataka, particularly in Hassan.
“He (Deve Gowda) has narrated in detail the extensive damage to the potato crop owing to attack of Late Blight Disease continuously for the last four years and the untold miseries faced by the farmers of the district. It may not be out of place to mention here that potato is a major cash crop in Hassan and this is the only district in the entire country that grows potato predominantly during kharif season as rain-fed crop. Therefore, it is to be noted that the entire financial stability of the farmers depend on this crop,” he said in letters to Singh and Pawar.
Though the state government has provided relief under Calamity Relief Fund to the affected farmers, it is not enough to mitigate the suffering of the farmers growing potato, the chief minister said.
“Hence, it is only appropriate that the Government of India announces a special package to farmers either in the form of loan waiver or provide interest-free loan and also enhance the scale of compensation under Calamity Relief Fund so as to at least cover the cost of cultivation,” he added.
Rs430 crore sought for Bidar
The chief minister on Friday urged the Planning Commission to release a special grant of `430 crore for the development of Bidar, which is set to celebrate 500 years of Gurdwara Jheera Saheb. Gowda termed the district as one of the under-developed districts of the state with low human development index amid a relatively higher population of SCs, STs and the minorities.
The move comes in backdrop of the proposed 500-year celebrations of the famous gurdwara here in April. In a letter to Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, he said: “We are going to celebrate 500th year of consecration of the revered Guru Nanak Jheera Gurdwara at Bidar. In this context, it would be appropriate we pool our resources for the infrastructure upgradation in and around the Bidar to ensure better civic and other services to the citizens and devotees.”
The chief minister said a project proposal in this regard had been prepared and an estimated `430 crore would be required for the development of basic infrastructure, including roads, water supply, health facilities, traffic, electricity, sports, recreation etc.
“This one-time development of infrastructure will give a fillip to the overall development of that area and will have tremendous multiplier effect, which will help the whole areadevelop,” he added.
Comments