Silk growers besiege Moily

Shidlaghatta, July 30, DHNS:

Silk growers gheraoed Union Minister for Corporate Affairs, M Veerappa Moily, for more than one hour near Jangamakote Cross in Shidlaghatta taluk during the bundh on Saturday.

“The silk farmers are facing distress for the past seven to eight months. The groundwater level has touched abysmally low levels, even as farmers are demanding permanent irrigation facilities. You have been elected to Parliament from Chikkaballapur district, but have done nothing for the people,” the protesters said.

No contribution
The farmers said though people of Moily’s own district, Dakshina Kannada had rejected him, it was people of Chikkaballapur district who elected him. They said he had not contributed any significant project to the district.

The protestors said sericulture and dairy farming being the key occupations in the district, the farmers had not been provided suitable prices, pushing them to the brink of suicide. Though the twin districts of Kolar and Chikkaballapur are represented by two ministers in the Union Cabinet, development in the region was zero, they complained.

Addressing the farmers, Moily said he would discuss the matter of increasing import duty on silk with the concerned minister and officials during parliament session.

A permanent solution would be worked out for providing permanent irrigation facilities for Chikkaballapur district, by bringing water through pipelines from Ettinahole reservoir in two years, Moily said.

Hosapete Muniyappa, Anjinappa, Hireballa Krishnappa and others were present.

Appeals to Pranab
Moily had requested the Union Minister for Finance Pranab Mukherjee to consider restoring the duty on import of silk to 30 per cent from the present five per cent.
Moily stated that Karnataka contributed 70 per cent of silk produced and out of this 60 per cent was produced in Chikkaballapur.

“Silk growers have managed to survive till this day despite extreme price fluctuation. But with the reduction of import duty on Chinese silk, the farmers and industry are at risk.”
He also stated that large-scale dumping of duty free Chinese silk would affect domestic sericulture production and it was necessary that the import duty should continue at the earlier rate.