Fertiliser Shortage Rocks Karnataka Assembly
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

BANGALORE, July 21: The entire Congress-JD(S) opposition lambasted the BJP government headed by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa over its failure in ensuring adequate supply of fertilisers and also for its inefficiency in the distribution causing immense hardships to the farmers during the khariff season.

Congress opposition leader Siddaramaiah, who  initiated a debate on the fertilizers, said  the Agriculture Department officials have not learnt a lesson from last year’s crisis. It had not maintained adequate stocks to keep pace with the kharif sowing operations in the State nor ensure equitable distribution of the available stocks.

The Government has totally failed to supply fertilizers to farmers due to its poor monitoring of the supply and demand, he said alleging that unscrupulous traders and middlemen were allowed to exploit the farmers by resorting to hoarding and blackmarketeering.

The Centre supplied adequate quantity of urea, DAP, complex and Muriate of Potash (MoP) fertilizers to the State by releasing the State ‘s quota of 1.70 lakh tonnes of fertilizers in July.

As the per the Fertilizers Control Order, 1995, it was the responsibility of the Centre to ensure adequate supply of farm inputs to all states. Inadequate preparations to distribute the input to different districts and a large scale hoarding by traders caused the shortage and farmers’  agitation, he claimed.

Siddaramaiah pointed out that Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers M K Azhagiri has ensured adequate supply of fertilizers to the State during the kharif season. But to cover up its shortcomings, the State government has been pointing fingers at the Centre for the crisis , Siddaramaiah alleged.

The former Deputy Chief Minister urged the Government to crackdown on private traders who have been hoarding the fertilizers and selling at higher prices. Several primary agricultural cooperative societies have become defunct and the farmers have not been getting inputs due to bottlenecks in the supply system, he said.

Congress deputy leader T B Jayachandra said the Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister S A Ravindranath have been issuing contradictory statements on the issue to confuse farmers. Sowing had been delayed on account of fertilizer shortage.

Former Agriculture Minister Bandeppa Kashempur (JD-S) said the faulty policies pursued by the Government caused the present fertilizers shortage. Despite spending several crores of rupees on organic farming, the Government has not been able to resolve the manure crisis.

Meanwhile, JD(S) leader H D Revanna urged the government to announce a relief of Rs 100 crore for the loss of crops such as potato, arecanut, coconut and ginger in Hassan district, due to excess rains and floods.