Gowda advises tobacco growers against distress sale

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday appealed to tobacco growers of the State not to panic and resort to distress sale of their produce, yielding to pressure from merchants.

Addressing reporters here, Gowda said with the Tobacco Board deciding to postpone e-auctioning, farmers were forced to sell their produce to merchants from places like Guntur at a much lower price. He said he had spoken to Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and appealed to him to start the auctioning process.

“The minister has agreed to start auctioning by September 26. I appeal to the farmers not to panic and resort to distress sale,” he said. Districts including Hassan, Mysore and Belgaum produce high quality virginia tobacco, which is in demand in Russia.

Refusing to comment on the Cauvery river water-sharing issue, Gowda advised those staging protests not to make comments on the judiciary. He said he would wait for the outcome of the Cauvery River Authority meeting, before giving his opinion on the matter.

Taking a dig at former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who is touring the drought-hit areas of Hassan, Gowda said the BJP leader during his tenure as chief minister had not heeded the demands of the potato growers of the district, who had suffered losses in two years.