Allaying fears among the farming community over urea shortage, Deputy Commissioner G M Gangadharswamy said that the district has adequate stock of urea fertiliser to meet the farmers’ demand.
After taking stock of fertiliser stock in a joint inspection on July 31, DC said that farmers need not worry as there is adequate stock of fertiliser. He led the inspection following reports of urea fertiliser shortage in the district. A team of revenue officials, agriculture officers and police officers were part of the inspection.
“There is a demand of 33,000 metric tons of urea in Davangere district during the current monsoon season. But there is a stock of 3,000 metric tons more than the demand. However, the demand for granular urea has increased,” DC said. He further said that currently, there is a stock of 2,640 metric tons of granular urea in the district. And in addition to this, 454 metric tons of granular urea is being imported from Shivamogga, DC informed.
Farmers are using granular urea in excess, which has been scientifically proven to reduce the quality of the soil and increase crop diseases. In this context, to give more encouragement to the use of nano urea and to distribute urea adequately, two bags are being given to each farmer, the officer said. DC Gangadharswamy also made it clear that there is no shortage of other fertilisers in the district as supply and distribution are as per the demand.
Meanwhile, revenue officials and agriculture officials raided the warehouses of wholesale fertiliser sellers and the shops of retail fertiliser sellers in the district and cancelled their licenses. They have also been placed under suspension.
Licenses cancelled
During the inspection, the officials cancelled licenses of fertiliser wholesale shops following complaints that they sold fertiliser to other districts.
They include Ashapuri Fertilizers, Rathod Fertilizers, Sri Mallikarjuna Fertilizers, Dibbadahalli Agro Service, Sri Srinivasa Agro Traders, Kishore Fertilizers, Nallur Veerabhadreshwara Fertilizers in Channagiri Taluk, and Gopanahalli Veerabhadreshwara Traders.
Also, the licences of fertiliser retailers who were found to be selling it at higher price than the prescribed price were also suspended. They include Bhumika Agro Fertilizers, Vinitha Agro Agencies, Kumar Agro Agencies, Anagodu Jenukallu Siddeshwara Traders and Surya Agro Enterprises in Davangere.