Daijiworld Media Network - Brahmavar (HB/SP)

Brahmavar, Nov 6: Scores of farmers, in support of their demands, staged a strong protest by blocking vehicular traffic on national highway 66 at Brahmavar and threshing sheaves of paddy plants to separate grains on the road here on Saturday November 6.

The farmers are angry at the failure of Karnataka government to announce the minimum support price for the fresh paddy crops in time. They are agitated over the fact that the price fixed in Karnataka for paddy procurement stands at Rs 1,700 per quintal as against Rs 2,740 in Kerala. They demanded a support price of at least Rs 2,500 per quintal. As the farmers have already harvested the paddy and transported it to mills, they demanded the government to announce higher procurement price immediately.

Farmers' Protest Committee led the protesters. They said that because of untimely rainfall etc, paddy harvesting and maintenance is becoming increasingly difficult for the farmers. Added to that, the procurement price announced by the government is disappointing. Therefore, they said they have fixed a price of Rs 2,500 per quintal of paddy and asked the government to instruct the private dealers to buy paddy at this price from the growers. If this is not possible, the farmers want the government to arrange for procurement centres at the village level.

The protesters set a deadline of one week to the government to announce the support price as harvesting is in progress in the district now. The other demand is that the mills here should buy paddy grown by the farmers of the district on priority and only after that they can buy paddy from farmers of other districts.

"Considering the geographical issues faced by coastal districts, seperate agricultural policy should be adopted here. Paddy growers are contributing immensely towards improving the underground water table. For enhancing the underground water table, crores of rupees are spent and therefore the government should be able to support paddy growers in this issue," they stated.

Addressing the protestors, Raita Horata Samiti Kota president, Jayaram Shetty, recalled that the government had been appealed to announce minimum support price for paddy through a petition two years back. "The government was requested to announce the support price for the paddy in the month of November. As the government did not heed to our request, we are left with no other alternative but to agitate.

"Now, paddy cultivation involves an expenditure of Rs 32,000 per acre and the price of Rs 1,600 per quintal the farmers get in the mills is woefully insufficient. We demand for the price to be fixed at Rs 2,500 per quintal. APMC rules should be relaxed. Rate should be fixed by bringing the farmers together. Paddy procurement centres should be opened. Middlemen are fixing the prices now. In coastal Karnataka, most of the cultivated fields are fragmented and scattered and receive heavy rainfall. Therefore, the yield is less. Therefore, a separate agricultural policy should be drafted for coastal Karnataka and the government should respond to our demand immediately " he urged.

Hungarcutta Balekudru Math Narasimhashrama Swamiji, in his benedictory address, stated that the farmers never nurse selfishness and they are altruists. He said that the plans being envisaged for the farmers fby Prime Minister Narendra Modi will prove to be beneficial for the farmers. He said that the middlemen are involved with holding the protest and they are misleading the farmers. He therefore suggested that problems should be solved on their own without allowing others to meddle in their affairs.

Brahmavar Sugar Factory president, Baikady Suprasad Shetty, promised to open a paddy procurement centre in the premises of the sugar factory here next year. He offered to pay good price to the crops raised by the farmers at these centres. He advised the farmers to think of growing sugarcane along with paddy. "The 38,000 acre Varahi irrigation project has commenced. It will benefit farmers of Brahmavar taluk. The sugar factory here should turn into a farmers centre," he said.

Farmer leaders, Jayaram Shetty Manuru, Bhoja Poojary Kota, Brahmavar sugar factory president, Baikady Suprasad Shetty, Brahmavar sugar factory director, Umanath Shetty Beloor,, district Raita Sangha secretary, Vikash Hegde, farmer leaders, Shivamuthy K, Uday Shetty Padukare, Mahesh Shetty Manuru, Anusha Nayak of Brahmavar Agricultural Station, Alwin Andrade, Vasant Giliyar and others were present.