The Opposition Leader in the Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday Siddaramaiah (Congress) took a dig at the ruling BJP in the State and the Centre by saying that the farm crisis continues while the promised doubling of income for the farmers has not seen the light of day.
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During a discussion in the State Assembly, the former chief minister said only some of the rich were getting richer while the rest were not, let alone the common man.
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He said most people were giving up farming as it was no longer profitable. This was despite 50 per cent of employment generated across the country was in the agricultural sector.
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He claimed that the organised workers in the sector in the State were 1.89 crore in number, while 43 lakh were in the unorganised sector.
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The total number of workers in the segment was 2.32 crore. The total population dependent on farming was 5.25 crore, he claimed.
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The former chief minister rued that fragmentation of agricultural land has led to reduction in income. Apart from this, the spending required to save crops has made it less profitable.
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He claimed that the United Progressive Alliance government led by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had waived off Rs 78,000 crore farm loans but the current government at the Centre waived them off only for big industries and that sum was to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore.
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Siddaramaiah alleged there was a decline in the daily milk production in Karnataka owing to diseases afflicting livestock.
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To this, the Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan said the government was aware of the challenge and gave an assurance that vaccination of cattle would be completed by January 15. ? ? ??
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Siddaramaiah demanded that sugarcane growers, too, must get a share of earnings from ethanol produced by sugar factories. “You could not double the farm income. Farmers are in trouble. Prices are spiralling, be it fertiliser, petrol, diesel or cooking gas. The Prime Minister had said ‘Achchhe Din Ayenge’ (Good days will come). We don't see that,” said Siddaramaiah said.