State Agriculture Minister Umesh Katti led a delegation of Karnataka MPs to meet Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to explain the shortage in fertilisers and ask for immediate assistance from the Centre.
In a memorandum submitted to Pawar, the state had said that it currently has a shortfall of two lakh tonnes of Urea, as it had received only 2.5 lakh tonnes against the requirement of 4.5 lakh tonnes. It also demanded 20,000 tonnes of MOP.
The delegation requested the Centre to stop Nepal from dumping low-quality areca nut in local markets, which would impact growers in the country. Taking advantage of the low cost regime, a large number of growers produce areca nuts of low quality in Nepal and smuggle it to India through ports.
Besides affecting farmers, most of whom are in Karnataka, the delegation said gutkha manufacturers use the low quality areca nuts, which would affect the health of Indian consumers.
The MPs delegation comprised of Ananth Kumar Hegde, Nalin Kumar Katil, Ramesh Jigajinagi, Prabhakar Kore, P C Chacko, G M Siddeshwara and Shivakumar Udasi.
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